Exclusive: Nepal is trying to play pressure tactics against India, says former diplomat Sreenivasan

Speaking to ETV Bharat, the former Indian diplomat and an international affairs expert, Dr TP Sreenivasan outlines the bilateral ties between India and Nepal. He said that Nepal is now trying to play pressure tactics against India as the former's current constitutional amendment bill is very provocative.

Thiruvananthapuram: In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Dr TP Sreenivasan, former Indian Ambassador at the United States of America and an international affairs expert, spoke about the Kalapani issue and the bilateral ties between India and Nepal.

Stating that the current move by Nepal is very provocative, Sreenivasan said that if Nepal goes ahead with the constitutional amendment bill, it cannot be returned to India, even if they want to, at a later stage.

"It is not expected that Nepal will agitate India and move ahead with the amendment. Let us hope that both the countries will solve the issue amicably through dialogues," he said.

Sreenivasan said that Nepal is now trying to play pressure tactics against India.

"Nepal makes it appear as if it is building a close tie with China and gain from India using that strategy. However, the special treaty between Nepal and India is very different from the bilateral relations Nepal holds with China. India has been reminding Nepal about this continuously in the bilateral dialogues. Nepal cannot move a step forward without cooperating with India. The petroleum products imported by India at an exorbitant cost are being given to Nepal for free," he said.

Sreenivasan further said that from the current scenario, it is also evident now that the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nepal - the only Hindu nation in the world- has not yielded any positive results.

"China’s pressure was also a factor when Nepal demanded India to remove the defence posts there, after the Indo China war, and India had budged. However, Nepal had not demanded Kalapani even at that point," the former ambassador stated.

Sreenivasan said that the hasty move is also driven by the political interests of the Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

"Through these hasty and provocative moves against India, Oli is also trying to instil a sense of nationality among the people of Nepal as he feels insecure about losing power," he added.