Nepali Congress (NC) lawmakers Amresh Kumar Singh and Devendra Raj Kandel have pointed that China has also encroached Nepali land in the meeting of State Affairs Committee of the parliament convened Monday to discuss inclusion of Lipu Lekh and Kalapani of Nepal in the new political map published by India.
"The government should also put a clear position on encroachment by China," Kandel said. "It should also state its position in pillar number 56 of Dolakha and Mt Everest."
Kandel opposed arrest of protestors opposing encroachment of Nepali land by the police and demanded that the border dispute with China should also be resolved when the issue of Kalapani has been raised.
Singh also raised the border encroachment by China and pointed that the northern neighbor has sole possession of the keys for the bridge in Rasuwa connecting Nepal and China. "Why does China have sole possession of the keys? Why does the Nepal Police not have the keys?" Singh asked.
He opined that the Nepal Army should be deployed for border security. "It is not the army's duty to run shopping malls and sell petrol. The army should not be turned into contractors through Cabinet decision and should instead be deployed at the borders," he stressed.
CPN lawmaker Yashoda Subedi responding to the NC lawmakers opined that the government should now be focused solely on the border dispute with India.
The State Affairs Committee of the parliament after the deliberations instructed the government to issue a new map including Kalapani, Lipu Lekh and Limpiyadhura that India has included in its new political map.
"Instructing Nepal Government to prepare curriculum by reforming the Nepali map used in educational materials of Nepal and prepare new map including the parts up to Limpiyadhura in the map brought to use in Nepal until now," the meeting has decided.
The meeting has also recommended the government to resolve the problem through diplomatic initiative and internationalize the issue if that fails. "Requesting the Nepal Government to make arrangements for permanent security of borders by creating permanent barracks of Armed Police Force (APF) in border areas including Kalapani," the decision adds.
Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa pledged with the committee to strengthen border security. "We are focusing the APF on border security. There were border security posts in every 35 kilometers earlier. We will now keep one in every 10 kilometers," he assured.
