Kathmandu: The comments are unlikely to go down well with the Indian government, which has put considerable effort into improving relations in the past few months.
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli pledged to “retrieve” the territories of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh from India, returning the focus to a border row that had taken relations between the two countries to a low last year.
Oli, who has sought to shore up his nationalist credentials after dissolving the House of Representatives, or lower house of Parliament, made the remarks while addressing the National Assembly, or upper house. The comments are unlikely to go down well with the Indian government, which has put considerable effort into improving relations in the past few months.
“Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh, which are located east of the Mahakali river belong to Nepal as per the Sugauli Treaty. We will get them back through diplomatic talks with India,” Oli told the National Assembly session, according to Republica news website. Nepal’s rulers never made efforts to reclaim Nepalese territories after Indian military forces were stationed in the region after the India-China war of 1962, he said.
There was no immediate response from Indian officials to Oli’s comments. Oli triggered a border row last year after his government issued a new political map that showed Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh all controlled by India as part of Nepalese territory.–Agencies
