BJP Claims Rahul Gandhi Is In Nepal To Attend Wedding Of Ex-Nepal Diplomat's Daughter, Questions Link

BJP IT convener Amit Malviya said that Rahul Gandhi went to Kathmandu to attend the wedding of Sumnima Udas, daughter of a Nepali diplomat.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Sumnima Udas

Source : Getty, LinkedIN

New Delhi: The BJP continued its attack on Rahul Gandhi after a purported video of the Congress leader at a nightclub in Nepal surfaced on social media. On Wednesday, BJP IT convener Amit Malviya said that Rahul Gandhi went to Kathmandu to attend the wedding of Sumnima Udas, daughter of a Nepali diplomat who supports Nepal's claim over regions in Uttarakhand.

"Rahul Gandhi was supposedly at the wedding of Sumnima Udas, a Nepali diplomat's daughter, who actively supports Nepal's claim over regions of India's Uttarakhand. From China to Nepal, why does Rahul have ties only with those who are challenging India's territorial integrity?" Malviya tweeted.

BJP's charges evoked a sharp response from the Congress, which said Rahul Gandhi was in Nepal to attend the marriage of a journalist friend, and that was "not a crime".

Who Is Sumnima Udas Whose Wedding Rahul Gandhi Attended In Nepal?

According to her LinkedIn profile, Sumnima Udas was a former correspondent with CNN and was based in Delhi. She covered politics, economics, social, and environment for CNN from 2001 to 2017. She received the Journalist of the Year award in 2014 for her reporting on gender issues.

She is also the founder and executive director at The Lumbini Museum. Udas completed her masters from Oxford and has a journalism degree from Lee University. 

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Udas is reportedly getting married to Nima Martin Sherpa. Sherpa is a China-based businessman who runs a company in Guangzhou by the name SML Holdings, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Sumnima's father, Bhim Udas, was a former ambassador to Myanmar. Bhim Udas has confirmed to The Kathmandu Post that Gandhi was in Kathmandu to attend the wedding ceremony of his daughter.

Sharing a screenshot of Udas's tweet, BJP's Amit Malviya said she supported Nepal's new map issued by then Nepalese Prime Minister KP Oli that claimed Indian territories of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh of Uttarakhand. In the tweet, she had said, "Nepal issues a new map...should have been done decades ago".

In 2019, Udas had shared a report to target India on the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). The year saw widespread protests across the country over the legislation that facilitates granting of Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.