Create conditions conducive to dialogue, India asks Nepal

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 15

India has decided to play hardball with Nepal by accusing its Prime Minister KP Oli of creating a difficult situation and seeking conducive conditions for talks on mutually competing claims over a strip of land on the Indo-Nepal border.

“We will wait to see how the Nepal Government creates a positive environment. Everyone knows what is the positive and conducive atmosphere. It is up to the Nepal Government to do that. We have already reiterated our commitment on earlier occasions,” said highly placed sources.

The observation comes a day before Nepal’s Upper House will consider a resolution to change the map on the coat of arms to include the areas claimed by India as well. The Indian stand with respect to Nepal is at variance with its attitude to resolving the stand-off with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) where it entered into talks with no preconditions.

Charging Oli with unilateral changing Nepal’s political map, the sources said the fact that this was done without fact or evidence, points to domestic political agenda being the prime motivation behind the move.

“We don’t know why PM Oli and his government did not tell the Nepalese people about our offer of talks. We keep hearing India has never offered a virtual conference between Foreign Secretaries,” said the sources, while pointing out that Nepal did not respond to the two offers for talks made over the past nine months.

They however conceded that PM Narendra Modi has not spoken to Oli on the issue. At the same time, the sources said the dispute has not impaired cooperation in other areas. “Our cooperation is multifaceted. The Government of India has remained in the forefront of Covid assistance to Nepal,” they said.