India has reiterated its claims that it has not encroached on Nepali land.
Responding to a question during the weekly media briefing on Thursday about whether Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narnedra Modi discussed the issue of Lipu Lekh and Kalapani during the telephonic conversation on Wednesday, Spokesperson at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar reiterated the Indian claims.
"As far as the boundary question is concerned, we have made our position very clear. I can only reiterate that our map accurately depicts the sovereign territory of India. The new map has in no manner revised our boundary with Nepal," Kumar stated.
"The boundary delineation exercise with Nepal is ongoing under the existing mechanism. We reiterate our commitment to resolve outstanding boundary issues through dialogue in the spirit of close and friendly bilateral relations between the two countries."
The inclusion of Lipu Lekh and Kalapani of Nepal in the new political map published by India in November has been widely condemned with the ruling and opposition parties alike protesting the Indian act.
The government has already stated that Nepal does not accept the map issued unilaterally by India. "The Nepal government is clear that Kalapani area is part of Nepal," the Foreign Ministry has said issuing a statement. "It is clear that outstanding border issues between the two countries should be concluded with bilateral consensus, and any decision taken unilaterally will not be acceptable for Nepal government."
The ministry stressed that border disputes between the two friendly neighbors should be resolved through diplomatic channel on the basis of historic documents and evidence.
Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Baskota has elaborated on the historic evidence pointing that Nepal conducted a census in the area in 2018 BS and has historical evidence proving Nepal collected tax from the surrounding areas in the past. "That shows that the land was in Nepal's control in the past for one cannot go to another country and conduct census and establish revenue offices," he argued.
The Indian government, meanwhile, has claimed it has not encroached Nepali land but stated it is committed to finding a solution to border disputes with Nepal through dialogue.
Responding to a question about the outrage against Indian in Nepal over inclusion of Lipu Lekh and Kalapani of Nepal in the new political map published by India and the Indian government's response to the statement issued by the Nepali Foreign Ministry during the weekly media briefing in November, Spokesperson at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar had made the same claims arguing that the new map does not change the Indian borders with Nepal in any way.
"Our map accurately depicts the sovereign territory of India. The new map has in no manner revised our boundaries with Nepal," he had stated. "The boundary delineation exercise with Nepal is ongoing under the existing mechanism. We reiterate our commitment to find a solution through dialogue in the spirit of close and friendly bilateral relationship."
He had also hinted then that the current uproar in Nepal may have been stirred by some vested interests and called for a need to guard against such interests. "I think this is very important to note, that both sides should guard against vested interests who are out there to create some differences between the two countries."
