Nepal again drags India in its power politics

India has been dragged into Nepal’s new power game yet again, with a senior Maoist leader on Sunday asking Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s CPN-UML not to preach nationalism to the party that had waged a “tunnel war” against foreign interference in the past.

“There is no need for CPN-UML to preach lesson on nationalism to us,” Barsha Man Pun, senior leader of CPN-Maoist Centre, said. Coming down heavily upon the Prime Minister, Pun said it was his party that announced a “tunnel war” against India during the armed revolution in Nepal in 2003-2004 and stepped down from the government in 2009 to protest against foreign intervention. Madhesis, ethnic communities and other backward classes of Nepal, however, could not fit in Oli’s idea of nationalism, he said.

Pun, one of the main architects of the emerging new alliance between Nepali Congress and the Maoist party, made the remarks while interacting with reporters here. According to him, the CPN-UML’s accusation that the Maoist party was guided by foreign forces to topple the government was ridiculous as the former had found the Maoists ‘good’ when they supported the CPN-UML-led government earlier.

PM Oli has said he will not put the national interest at stake to please the neighbour, without naming India. However, the local media reported that his remarks were directed towards India.

Meanwhile, Oli, who is reluctant to resign despite being reduced to minority after CPN-Maoist Centre withdrew its support to the government, on Sunday consulted legal experts after CPN-Maoist Centre withdrew its support to the government.