Suddenly recalled by his government amid reports that he was "colluding" with India to topple the government of Prime Minister K P Oli, Upadhayay denied the allegations and described his recall as a "political decision" attributable to "destiny".
Upadhayay, a senior leader of Nepali Congress, who leaves for Kathamandu on Sunday after a brief tenure of over a year, said the visit of Nepal's President Bhidya Devi Bhandari to India should not have been put off. She was due to visit this week but her government cancelled the trip amid the internal political turmoil in Nepal.
Upadhayay, for whom Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar hosted a lunch today, said there was anxiety on the Indian side regarding the current state of the relationship. Restoration of mutual trust was discussed at the lunch.
Describing Indo-Nepal ties as "unparalleled", Upadhyay
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said Nepal's relationship with any other country including China cannot be compared to what it has with India.
Asked about reports in Nepal quoting unnamed officials that India was behind the current political instability in the Himalayan country, the Nepalese envoy said such reports should be ignored.
"Blaming (external factors) is reflection of weakness. Whatever is happening in Nepal has to be managed by it alone....India should also not be that sensitive to what is not said officially," he asserted.
Upadhyay, who has been accused in Nepal of visiting the Terai region, bordering India, with Indian Ambassador in Kathmandu Ranjit Rae recently, also denied having visited the place with Rae.
He also asserted that though his was a political appointment by the previous government in Nepal, he had tried to work as a "neutral" person towards strengthening the bilateral ties.