Leaders in Nepal, India call for engagement to prevent isolation of Nepal

Veteran politicians in Nepal and India who have for the past two decades, maintained back channel dialogue called for closer cooperation between the two sides in the backdrop of the uprising that has unseated the government of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, leaving a power vacuum.

Former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal and Vice-President of Nepali Congress Bimalendra Nidhi said that ahead of the uprising, Nepali Congress was considering withdrawal of support from Mr. Oli’s government but that idea was nixed by president of Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Also read: Nepal protests highlights on September 10, 2025

“The uprising has risked our parliamentary system, which needs to be preserved by Nepal for the sake of its future. At this moment, countries like India, the U.S., and China should assure Nepal that the country will not face international isolation because of the current political situation. An interim administration can also sustain itself with support from Nepal’s friends and partners,” said Mr. Nidhi over a phone call from Kathmandu, where the protesters burnt down his house on Tuesday (September 9, 2025) forcing him to seek refuge in a secret location in the city.

Mr. Nidhi said that there is an atmosphere of fear across Kathmandu as political figures across party lines were targeted by the protesters. He revealed that soon after the killing of protesters by the police on Tuesday (September 9, 2025), the Nepali Congress held a special meeting where several leaders suggested to Mr. Deuba to withdraw support from the Oli-led government. “Mr. Deuba refused to withdraw support, saying that might create instability in the country,” said Mr. Nidhi.

Mr. Deuba and his spouse, Foreign Minister Arzu Deuba, were assaulted on Wednesday by the protesters, who also burnt down the Deuba residence.

Veteran politician K.C. Tyagi, who is a member of the Friends of Nepal group that features several notable figures from India, expressed disappointment over the state of affairs in Kathmandu and said the people in Nepal had given up hope regarding the leaders of the Maoist tradition.

“Both Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and K. P. Sharma Oli had tough careers. They lived in exile and were jailed for many years while fighting for what they believed in. But after coming to power, they changed. People of Nepal did not approve of that,” said Mr Tyagi, explaining that he visited Kathmandu in August and met with Mr. Prachanda and other leaders and sensed that they had drifted away from their humble roots.

“At Prachanda’s house, he served me tea in a silver cup. While accepting the tea, I was reminded that Prachanda spent more than a decade in exile in very difficult financial circumstances and he had clearly moved away from his roots,” he said urging India to be proactive in taking care of the neighbourhood where countries are going under interim governments. Mr. Tyagi who participated in the inauguration of the Prime Ministership of Mr. Prachanda in 2008 said that he and Prime Minister Oli should have followed a middle path in diplomacy.