India-Nepal relations have been somewhat strained in recent times, with the neighbouring country recently redrawing its political map to incorporate three strategically important Indian areas. For its part, India has termed that "artificial enlargement" as being "untenable".
The three areas that were incorporated through a Constitutional amendment were Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.
There had also been an incident at the border wherein one person from Bihar had been killed and two others injured after a confrontation with the Nepal police took a violent turn.
More recently, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had said on June 28 that efforts were being made to oust him from office.
"Efforts are being made to remove me from power, but that will not succeed," Oli had claimed, without naming any person or country. He added that while nobody had directly asked him to quit, he had "smelt undercurrent movements".
Oli had followed this up with a somewhat oblique reference to India. "There have been various kinds of activities in the embassies and hotels," he had claimed, adding that if one listened to the news from New Delhi, "you will get the gesture". He had also claimed that some Nepalese leaders were involved.
Now however, it would seem that India did not have much of a role to play. As per a news update posted to Twitter by WION News' Sidhant Sibal, it had been the ruling party's executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" who had wanted Oli gone.
As per reports, Prachanda has said that it is he, and not India that seeks Oli's removal from office. He was reportedly speaking at a standing committee meeting. Following the revelation, many officials had expressed shock over Oli's earlier comments.
Following the revelation, party leaders have intensified their criticism of Oli.
Prachanda other senior leaders including Madhav Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal and Bamdev Gautam have now sought PM KP Oli’s resignation in a standing committee meeting, citing his failure over various issues.
While they both belong to the Nepal Communist Party, there has surfaced a ever deepening rift between the two. This has perhaps been aggravated further by the fact that Oli had recently given several of the Standing Committee meetings a miss.
Prachanda, a former two-time Prime Minister, has spoken time and again about the lack of coordination between the government and the party and he was pressing for a one-man one position system to be followed by the NCP.
(With inputs from agencies)
