The move violates ‘current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues’
KATHMANDU, June 13: In its first official reaction after the House of Representatives unanimously endorsed the constitution amendment bill to pave the way for replacing Nepal’s map in the national emblem with the country’s new political and administrative map that includes Kalapani, Lipu Lekh and Limpiyadhura, India has said that “Nepal’s claim is not based on historical evidences.”
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In response to media queries on the passage of the constitution amendment bill by the lower house of Nepal, the official spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said India has 'noted' the passage of constitution amendment bill for changing the the map of Nepal to include parts of 'Indian territory'.
Spokesperson Srivastava said India has already made its position clear on the matter of the border issue. "The artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical fact or evidence and is not tenable," he said. "It is also violative of our current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues."
The statement comes shortly after all political parties including the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), the main opposition party, Nepali Congress (NC), Janata Samajbadi Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) represented in the lower house of the federal parliament voted in favor of the amendment bill on Saturday afternoon.
Of the total 275 lawmakers in the lower house, all 258 lawmakers present in the house voted in favor of the constitution amendment bill. A lawmaker of Janata Samajbadi Party Sarita Giri chose to walk out of the meeting after House Speaker Agni Sapkota announced that her amendment proposal on the constitution amendment bill tabled in parliament had been rejected.
Speaker Agni Sapkota had announced that the amendment bill was endorsed as the number of legislators who voted in favor of the amendment bill was more than the required two-thirds majority in parliament.
