Nepal faces backlash over controversial bill to edit their borders
On Saturday, the Parliament of Nepal unanimously voted for the bill to update their constitution which allowed them to redraw their political map. The amended map shows a sliver of land northwest of Nepal as its border. This includes areas disputed with India, the speaker of the national legislature said. This changes the position of Nepal in the case of its dispute with India over their shared border significantly, straining ties between the South Asian neighbours.
While the new map has been passed at an overwhelming majority in the lower house, this will become official only if the upper house, as well as the President approve of it. Talking about this significant decision, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli spoke of the prospect of talks with India to sort out this age-old issue.
“It is a good thing that there is unity,” Oli told reporters. “Now there will be talks (with India).”
This decision was, however, faced with heavy backlash from India’s foreign ministry, as it rejected Nepal’s new map, arguing that the addition of Indian territory is not based on historical fact or evidence. Anurag Srivastava, India’s foreign ministry spokesman issued a statement that said, “It is also violative of our current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues”.
Meanwhile in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, people flocked the streets in support of this decision, painting the map on the streets and holding candles.
