Nepal's former PMs under attack for meeting Khurshid

Nepal's six former prime ministers have faced criticism for ignoring the diplomatic code of conduct and protocol as they went to a hotel to meet Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid.

On Tuesday, former prime ministers Baburam Bhattarai, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, Sher Bahadur Deuba, Surya Bahadur Thapa, Jhala Nath Khanal and Lokendra Bahadur Chand reached the hotel separately and met Khurshid.

Nepali media reported that such meeting was a serious violation of protocol, reports Xinhua.

"The leaders should have called the Indian minister at their residence to meet instead of going to the hotel ... because they hold top position than a foreign minister," a foreign affairs ministry official told Xinhua.

The previous government led by Baburam Bhattarai had introduced a new code of conduct that bars former prime ministers to meet foreign guests at hotels who are below than their protocol.

The official said the former prime ministers did not take consent from the foreign ministry before the meeting.

Kantipur Daily, Nepal's largest selling vernacular daily, published an editorial Thursday saying that the former prime ministers' meeting with the Indian minister was a diplomatic shame for the country.

Khurshid himself told reporters that he had not invited the leaders to meet him.