Nepal’s ambassador to India likely to be recalled as tensions between neighbours rise -As tensions with India soar, Nepal PM K.P. Sharma Oli is facing strife within the Communist Party, with China trying hard to keep it from falling apart.

Nepal Ambassador to India Nilamber Acharya | Twitter | @nilacharya

NAYANIMA BASU | The Print | 13 July, 2020  | New Delhi: Amid domestic turmoil and the widening diplomatic gap with India over PM K.P. Sharma Oli’s “cartographic engineering exercise”, Nepal could recall its Ambassador to New Delhi, Nilamber Acharya, before the end of his term, ThePrint has learnt.

According to diplomatic sources, the Oli government believes that while Nepal and India should hold formal rounds of talks over the disputed border region of Kalapani “at the earliest”, it would need to first “replace” its envoy here with someone who would give the rapidly plummeting bilateral ties “a fresh lease of life”.

It was PM Oli’s decision to send Acharya to India as envoy since he was one of the prominent members of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Nepal-India Relations.

This comes at a time when the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), the country’s ruling party, is facing severe internal challenges, while China tries hard to keep it from falling apart.

The NCP is facing fissures between PM Oli and two other senior party leaders, former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Madhav Kumar Nepal. Both leaders have demanded Oli’s resignation.

Senior NCP leaders such as Jhala Nath Khanal and former deputy prime minister Bamdev Gautam have also demanded Oli’s resignation as they vie for significant roles in the government.

According to Vijay Kanta Karna, a veteran Nepalese diplomat, however, while the government is giving serious thought to recall Acharya, it will not be easy to replace him due to “anti-India” sentiments in the government.