'Prachanda discreetly met ex-RAW chief in Delhi', claims KP Oli

Kathmandu, July 7 Chairman of Nepal's CPN-UML, K.P. Oli on Friday said that during his recent visit to India, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" discreetly met former RAW chief Samant Goel.

"Prachanda went to the residence of Goel and met him but he was silent over the meeting," Oli, also a former Nepal Prime Minister, said.

Prachanda was on an official visit to India from May 31 to June 3.

He had met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, but there was no news about his meeting with Goel.

In October 2020, Oli met Goel in Kathmandu in a bid to mend fences with India over a "disputed territory" issue.

In May 2020, the Nepal government issued a new map incorporating the disputed territories that have been occupied by India.

"I met the then RAW Chief in Kathmandu but I did not hide it," said Oli.

After it was reported in the media about the meeting between Oli and Goel, the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement and admitted the meeting between Oli and Goel but did not elaborate much about the content of the meeting.

"There has been the tendency to malign the UML. The chief of RAW came to Nepal and expressed his desire to meet me, so I met him. During his India visit, Prachanda went to meet Goel at his residence. But I met him in Kathmandu, not at Goel's residence. I did not meet him discreetly. He came to my residence and I talked about the interests of the Nepali people and the country. But he (Prachanda) can not admit the meeting and cannot reveal what was discussed," said Oli.

Earlier, a controversy had erupted after Prachanda, while addressing a function to launch a book written by Kiran Deep Sandhu on Sardar Pritam Singh on Monday, said that Pritam Singh once went to India to lobby for him to make him the Prime Minister of Nepal.

Pritam Singh's family left India long ago, and settled in Kathmandu. They have good connections with political leaders of Nepal, including Prachanda.

Pritam Singh's daughter wrote the book "Roads to the Valley: The Legacy of Sardar Pritam Singh in Nepal".

While commending the role played by Pritam Singh in enhancing Nepal-India relations, Prachanda said that he lobbied in Delhi and Kathmandu to make him the prime minister around eight years ago.

The remarks were criticised by the Opposition, with the CPN-UML saying "it is the Parliament that makes the prime minister, not India".

Taking exception to the statement of the Prime Minister, the CPN-UML, on Wednesday as well as Thursday, obstructed the proceedings in the Parliament, and sought Prachanda's resignation.