Nepal’s ex-Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, a key ally of the nation’s new ruling coalition, has accused New Delhi of “interfering” in the country’s government formation process.
Addressing a convention of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) lawmakers on Sunday, Oli stated that the formation of a new government in the country after the elections in November constituted an important step in guarding national “sovereignty.”
The former Prime Minister went on to claim that certain acts carried out during the government formation process were in “violation of diplomatic norms,” without specifying what they are. However, reports in Nepalese media quoted Oli's party colleague as claiming that New Delhi wants previous Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to continue on as the leader.
The previously ruling Nepali Congress, headed by Deuba, emerged as the largest party in the November election but fell short of a clear-cut majority.
Oli has stepped up his criticism of “Nepal’s neighbors” without naming any country in recent days.
On Saturday, while speaking at another event, Oli urged “our neighbors to not interfere in the internal affairs” of Nepal. “Some forces were trying to destabilize Nepal’s politics, but we gave it stability,” he remarked.
Oli also accused “some of our friends” of trying to “change the government” in Nepal through a backdoor entry, which he said isn’t “acceptable.”
While Oli was the PM between 2018 and 2021, a territorial dispute between Kathmandu and New Delhi in 2020 over the ownership of several border territories escalated into a major diplomatic row.
The Oli government back then introduced a new map of the country showing disputed territories as part of Nepal, which drew more protests from New Delhi. The new map was approved by the Nepalese parliament at the time.
During his tenure, Oli also backed revising the 1950 India-Nepal Friendship Treaty, which forms the bedrock of economic and defense ties between the two countries.
In the lead-up to the November election, Oli addressed territorial dispute with India during his campaign speeches.
Nepal’s New Government
The newly-elected lawmakers are set to convene for the first parliamentary sitting after the election on Monday. During the upcoming parliamentary session, the new government will also face a confidence motion to prove its majority in the 275-member House of Representatives.
Oli’s estranged ally Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, who heads the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) last month staked a claim to form a government after the election threw a hung mandate.
Prachanda walked out of a pre-poll alliance with Nepali Congress to join hands with Oli and six other parties with varying ideological leanings.
Under the new power-sharing deal, Prachanda will step aside to make way for another PM in 2025.
Till 2020, Oli and Prachanda were part of a unified Communist Party before the group split into two factions owing to differences over the leadership of the country’s leftist movement.