Nepal’s outgoing ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay said on Tuesday that several policies of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s government were unrealistic, though he would not challenge his government.
Addressing his last press interaction, after receiving the ‘letter of recall’ from Kathmandu, he predicted that the government’s planned amendment process for the national constitution will fail.
“The government requires the support of 207 members of the main Opposition party, the Nepali Congress, to pass major amendments and under the current circumstances Nepali Congress will not support the government’s plans,” he said.
Demand for the amendments, guaranteeing equal citizenship rights, by the Nepalis in the border areas, also known as the Madhesis, triggered months-long economic blockade which strained ties between India and Nepal.
Chinese supply line
The ambassador described the ongoing policy of “diversifying supply routes” being pursued by the government of Nepal as unviable. Under the programme, Prime Minister Oli aims to introduce Chinese supply line to Nepal, for which Nepal and China signed a landmark transit agreement in March during Mr. Oli’s China visit.
But Mr. Upadhyay said the plan to build high altitude rail link through Tibet was costly and Nepal was aware of the limitations of the difficult project. “We recognise that China has constructed high altitude train link. But special trains cannot reach the high altitude region. There are several practical difficulties in the plan to build supply lines over the Himalayas,” Mr. Upadhyay said.
Diplomatic bitterness
The Nepal government’s outreach to China, he said, cannot be at the cost of its ties with India.
“Nepal is a landlocked country and it cannot progress without India,” he said. Both sides would have to overcome the current diplomatic bitterness. “The visit of the President [Bidhya Devi Bhandari] to India has not been cancelled. It has been suspended. President will visit India in the near future,” Mr Upadhyay said.
