Kathmandu. It has been a week since Samant Goel, Chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the foreign intelligence agency of India visited Kathmandu to meet Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The utter silence maintained over their meeting, however, has generated a lot of suspicion and curiosity at the political and the public levels. Does Oli want to extend his rule with the help of RAW? Or, does he want to intimidate his rival and fellow chair of his party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, by using the RAW card? More importantly, did he mention the issue of Lipulek, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura during his talks with Goel? These are some of the questions that have arisen after the covert meeting for which only the prime minister has got the answers.

Oli has opened up on some of the important issues of the meeting to his intimate and loyal circle within the party. A leader of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and one of his confidants, told DCNepal, “PM Oli and Indian PM Modi had agreed to resolve the recent border crisis through talks, for which PM Modi had told that he would send his special envoy to create a favorable environment.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs, then, had sent a formal letter informing about a special representative being sent to Nepal. The Indian prime minister had chosen his intelligence chief as the special envoy. PM Oli did not object to Goel being PM Modi’s personal preference. He wanted to present Nepal’s stance and his view regarding the border issue clearly to India. He was successful in doing so.” “Modi sent the RAW chief to form the foundation for talks. Whether Oli’s reply is taken as a formal answer or not, that will be known in the future,” the central leader added.

PM Oli had given a lengthy account of the Nepal-India relationship to the RAW chief, during which he even mentioned the legend of the Puranas. He told how the relationship between the two countries was mentioned in the Skanda Purana. He then noted that for a long period of history, Kalapani Lipulek, and Limpiyadhura had been under Nepal’s territorial control.

“Explaining about Nepal-India relationship, the prime minister told Goel about those places being a part of Nepal since antiquity and that the fact has been bolstered now as Nepal has included the region in Nepal’s map after amending the constitution,” the leader further added. “PM Oli urged India to return the Nepali land reminding the RAW chief that the Indian Army had camped in the Kalapani region only after the 1962 Sino-Indian War and that the Mahakali Treaty still proves the region to be in Nepal’s territory.”

Goel didn’t make notable responses to Oli’s statements. He, meanwhile, informed that he was committed to taking Oli’s message to the Indian prime minister. He underscored that he had come as a special envoy of PM Modi and noted that India wanted to solve all differences through diplomatic dialogues, the leader informed DCNepal.

Apparently Goel also gave an invitation to PM Oli for a visit to India. It has not been ascertained whether that invitation is just a formality or a solid step taken by India towards resolving conflicts between the two nations.

Oli and his coterie were taken aback as there was widespread criticism regarding his meeting with the Indian spymaster. RAW had been successful in belittling Oli, but it was too late for the prime minister’s team to understand the consequences of the midnight rendezvous with the chief of the Indian intelligence agency.

The Oli faction has been telling that during the meeting, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) was present and that he had kept notes of the conversation. However, it seems that such a claim was just a means to escape from the defamation brought by the Indian propaganda as the designation of the officer at MoFA present during the meeting has not been revealed yet.

The RAW chief’s visit has been successful in propagating the rumor that Nepali politics has again tilted towards India for its management, and it has tarnished Oli’s image which had been that of a leader who took bold nationalistic stands.