Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli
Kathmandu: Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli sparked controversy on Saturday when he extended his greetings online for Vijay Dashami’s greetings to the nation with the old map of the country. The card with the national emblem and the figure of Oli, did not include the strategically located Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura region of the Pithoragardh district that Nepal has been claiming for.
Nepal had published a new map following the escalation of the border dispute with India in the summer and including parts of Uttarakhand on it. Ties between India and Nepal have been strained long after Nepal published its new map.
Oli received criticism from his opposition parties for using a dated map on the greeting card. He was accused of trying “to backtrack on the issue, undermining the spirit of the national consensus on the territorial issue.”
The Nepalese government clarified that the map used to convey Vijaya Dasami’s greetings from Oli was distorted for technical reasons. The greeting card was the new one, but due to its small size, the new areas were not visible, said Oli’s advisor Surya Thapa.
Oli’s foreign affairs adviser Rajan Bhattarai said Nepal has not watered down its claim on the Kalapani region.
To everyone’s surprise, it was Oli himself who six weeks ago had ordered the removal of the school textbooks that included the new map.
Earlier this week, Oli had a lengthy meeting with R&AW Indian chief Samant Kumar Goel. Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane is scheduled to visit Nepal next month.
Last month, after passing the bill to amend the Constitution to adopt a new map, Nepal said it plans to conduct a census in these areas. However, India made it clear that Nepal will not be able to carry out the exercise. According to a TOI report, Nepal conducts a census every 10 years and the next census is due in May 2020.
