KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who called on Indian President and prime minister on Friday in New Delhi, refused to include Nepal’s Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay in these meetings.

The envoy was also excluded during Dahal’s meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Dahal’s wife Sita, son-in-law Arjun Pathak and aide Shiva Khakurel were present during these meetings, according to Khakurel. Talking to The Himalayan Times over phone, Ambassador Upadhyay said he asked the former prime minister if he or any other diplomat from the Nepali embassy

could join his team during high-level meetings, but Dahal replied in negative. Nevertheless, Upadhyay was invited to a luncheon that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hosted in Dahal’s honour at Hyderabad House on Wednesday.

Former prime minister and senior leader of UCPN-Maoist Baburam Bhattarai during his India trip in early March had, however, included Nepal’s envoy in his delegation during his meetings with President Mukherjee and Sushma Swaraj.

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