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India’s plans to shorten pilgrims’ travel time to Kailash Mansarovar ran into diplomatic problems, as Nepal firmly opposed the new India-China link route that was launched on Friday by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. . In a heavily worded statement, the Nepalese Foreign Ministry said the decision to build the road through the territory at the Lipulekh Pass claims that its territory is a violation of an agreement reached between the two countries to discuss the matter.
“The Government of Nepal learned with regret of India’s” inauguration “yesterday of the” Link Road “that connects to Lipulekh, which passes through Nepalese territory,” the statement said on Saturday.
“This unilateral act goes against the understanding reached between the two countries, including at the level of the prime ministers, that a solution to border problems would be sought through negotiation,” the statement said, referring to the agreement between the first Minister Narendra Modi and (then) Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala in 2014 for Foreign Secretaries to solve the “pending boundary problems” in Kalapani (where Lipulekh is located) and Susta.
MEA response
The Foreign Ministry said that the road through the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand “lies entirely within the territory of India.”
“The path follows the pre-existing route used by the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims. Under the present project, the same path has been made flexible for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and merchants, “said the MEA, adding that the boundary delimitation exercise with Nepal is ongoing and that” India is committed to resolve the pending limits on issues through diplomatic dialogue and in the spirit of our close and friendly bilateral relations with Nepal. ”
Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, along with Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”, both co-chairs of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (NCP) issued separate statements, referring to India’s decision to build the road during the coronavirus pandemic as “deplorable”, and urged India and Nepal to take steps to resolve the problem.
Several student activists from the National Union of Free Students of Nepal (ANNFSU) affiliated with the ruling Communist Party of Nepal and other groups protested outside the Indian embassy in Kathmandu on the new path. “Leaders within the ruling party are also pressuring the government to take initiatives on the matter,” said a senior Nepali official. The Hindu.
The road that starts from Dharchula in Uttarakhand and runs 80 km to the Lipulekh Pass was built by the Border Roads Organization to help shorten the travel time to reach Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet by about three days each way. Mr. Singh “opened” it via video conference on Friday, flanked by General of the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Bipin Rawat, and General of the Army Chief of General Staff, Manoj Mukund Naravane.
Also read: Now a difficult hike through Lipulekh
“The Government of Nepal calls on the Government of India to refrain from any activity within the territory of Nepal,” added the Nepalese Foreign Ministry.
Nepal’s latest objection comes months after another protest in November 2019 by Mr. Oli’s government against the publication of Indian maps that included the Kalapani area. At the time, the Ministry of External Affairs had rejected Nepal’s claim, stating that the map “accurately represents the sovereign territory of India.”
In its latest statement, the Nepalese Foreign Ministry also referred to previous verbal notes issued in 2015, after India and China included Lipulekh’s passage in an agreement on bilateral trade routes, during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China, and said pending boundary problems arose. in 1997, when India and China agreed to reopen the pass, it should be resolved by “diplomatic means”.
“With this in mind, the Government of Nepal has proposed twice as many dates to hold the meeting of the Secretaries of Foreign Relations of the two countries, as ordered by their leaders, for which the response from the Indian side is still awaited” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. said.
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