The differences of opinion between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are likely to lead to the exclusion of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa from the final official delegation during PM KP Sharma Oli’s India visit set to start on Friday.
The differences of opinion between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are likely to lead to the exclusion of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa from the final official delegation during PM KP Sharma Oli’s India visit set to start on Friday.
Though the size of the delegation is yet to be confirmed, multiple sources involved in the preparations said DPM Thapa is reluctant to accompany the PM citing his differences on a number of issues.
Thapa is said to be unhappy with the PM’s decision to send Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel to New Delhi to prepare ground for Oli’s first India visit since his becoming the prime minister in October.
The common practice when the PM goes on a crucial visit is for the foreign minister, not someone else, to prepare the ground, said a senior official.
After Poudel returned from India, Foreign Minister Thapa had also suggested that the PM’s visit should focus on mending the strained bilateral ties rather than seeking Indian assistance for development projects.
DPM Thapa also has issues with the size of the PM-led delegation which is likely to exceed 40. Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi said he could not confirm whether the DPM will accompany the PM until the final list is ready.
The Foreign Ministry has so far listed DPM Thapa, Finance Minister Poudel and Home Minister Shakti Basnet to accompany the PM but the official announcement has not been made.
Strained personal relations
Some leaders from the PM’s party, CPN-UML, are jealous of DPM Thapa for the political mileage he got while trying to restore the ties with India during the border blockade.
Differences surfaced first after Thapa’s second visit in early December to India, where he used track-II diplomacy with the help of Sri Sri Ravi Shanker to convince the Indian establishment to ease the trade restrictions.
Thapa, who led the government team to negotiate with the agitating Madhesi Morcha, was conspicuously sidelined by PM Oli in favour UCPM (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Anil Giri is a reporter covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets.
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