Kathmandu, October 25
Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader Kamal Thapa has criticised Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle for his remarks during a visit to India.
“Dr Swarnim Wagle’s recent remarks in Delhi regarding Nepal-India relations are not only objectionable but also a direct devaluation of Nepali nationalism,” Thapa, a former foreign minister, wrote on social media.
Finance Minister Wagle is currently visiting India. Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2026 in New Delhi, he said the era of interpreting Nepali nationalism as opposition to India had ended.
Emphasising that the aspirations of the younger generation centre on economic prosperity and good governance, Wagle said Nepal’s foreign policy was moving in a positive direction.
He said decades of ideological conditioning had created a narrative linking Nepali nationalism with anti-India sentiment.
“But our generation is different. We have seen the world, and our aspirations are economic. We want good jobs, good governance and good relations with our neighbours,” Wagle said. “So, I can say with great happiness that the era of linking Nepali nationalism with ‘anti-Indianism’ is now over.”
Thapa objected to the finance minister’s remarks, saying Nepali nationalism had never been based on opposition to any particular country.
“His argument, made on a foreign platform, that the era of anti-India nationalism has ended, undermines issues of national concern and is entirely irresponsible,” Thapa wrote.
He said portraying the national sentiment of an entire country as narrow-minded based on the views of a small group of people, including a few exceptions, reflected Wagle’s prejudiced perspective.
Stating that Nepali nationalism centres on protecting the country’s sovereignty and the interests of its people, Thapa said Nepal seeks equal and respectful relations with India.
“But speaking out against injustices such as border encroachment, inundation and blockades is not anti-India sentiment; it is an inseparable expression of loyalty to the nation,” he wrote. “Have these voices raised in defence of national interests now become irrelevant? Could Wagle’s remarks be a product of the same self-defeating ‘Monroe Doctrine’ he advocated in the past?”
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