Nepal gives legal backing to disputed map, India objects
NEWDELHI: Nepal’s Parliament on Saturday passed a constitutional amendment to give legal backing to a map depicting disputed areas such as Lipulekh as Nepalese territory, prompting India to say such “artificial enlargement of claims” violates an understanding to resolve boundary issues through talks.
On Saturday afternoon, the House of Representatives or lower house of Nepal’s Parliament unanimously adopted the constitutional amendment bill for including the country’s new political map in the national emblem. This map, cleared by the KP Sharma Oli government on May 20, depicts Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepal.
About 258 members of the 275strong House of Representatives present in the lower house voted for the bill. It is now set to be taken up by the National Assembly next week.
NEWDELHI:Nepal’s Parliament on Saturday passed a constitutional amendment to give legal backing to a map depicting disputed areas such as Lipulekh as Nepalese territory, prompting India to say such “artificial enlargement of claims” violates an understanding to resolve boundary issues through talks.
On Saturday, the House of Representatives or lower house of Nepal’s Parliament unanimously adopted the constitutional amendment bill for including the country’s new political map in the national emblem. This map, cleared by the KP Sharma Oli government on May 20, depicts Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepal.
All 258 members of the 275strong House of Representatives present in the lower house voted for the bill. The bill is set to be taken up by the National Assembly or upper house next week, people familiar with developments said. The Nepal Communist Party has a two-thirds majority in the upper house and the bill’s passage there is considered a formality. Reacting to the development, the external affairs ministry – which has said in the past that the matter should be resolved through talks – described the passage of the bill as an “artificial enlargement” of Nepal’s territorial claims.
“We have noted that the House of Representatives of Nepal has passed a constitution amendment bill for changing the map of Nepal to include parts of Indian territory. We have already made our position clear on this matter,” said external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava. He added, “This artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical fact or evidence and is not tenable. It is also violative of our current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues.”
Nepal’s move to issue the new political map was triggered by India’s inauguration of an 80-km road to Lipulekh on the border with Tibet to facilitate the movement of pilgrims going to the Kailash Mansarovar site. Last year, Nepal had been irked when India depicted Kalapani as part of a new map of the UT of Ladakh.
Nepal’s PM KP Sharma Oli has said that Lipulekh, Kalapani and
Limpiyadhura are part of his country’s territory on the basis of the Treaty of Sugauli signed with the British in 1816, which says all areas east of the Kali river belong to Nepal. He has also accused India of creating an “artificial” boundary in the region and of encroaching on Nepalese territory by deploying the army. India has dismissed these claims, saying they are not based on historical facts and records. Hours before the lower house of Nepal’s Parliament voted on the amendment, Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane emphasised the strong relations between the countries.
The India-Nepal border row comes at a time when India is engaged in a tense stand-off with Chinese troops in several sections of the LAC and Constantino Xavier of Brookings India said it was time for New Delhi to move towards de-escalation with Kathmandu.
NEPAL’S MOVE TO ISSUE THE NEW POLITICAL MAP WAS TRIGGERED BY INDIA’S INAUGURATION OF A ROAD TO LIPULEKH ON THE BORDER