Non Tenable: India reacts as Nepal alters map, includes Indian territories

New Delhi : On Saturday, Nepal parliament unanimously cleared new political map that included three regions - Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura – which India claims to a part of its territory.

It started around 10 days back when Nepal's lower house agreed to pass a resolution on new geographical map of the nation. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) here accused Nepal of violating the “current understanding” to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues. 

"We have already made our position clear on this matter. This artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical fact or evidence and is not tenable," said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

Nepal's new map was in response to two Indian activities in last eight months. In early November, India released a new map to highlight its two new Union Territories – Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. In the new map, India showed included Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. Though, the nation instantly issued a proposal of dialogue to discuss the border.

Secondly on May 8, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a special road from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to the controversial spot of Lipulekh. This particular incident made Nepal furious, with Oli and his government moving towards passing a new political map.

The amendment in the Lower House hung in balance as the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) was 10 seats short of the needed two-thirds majority. But Madhesi parties, who were asked to display their nationalist credentials, and the Nepali Congress came on board, making the passage of the resolution a fait accompli.