Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma on Tuesday claimed he was not briefed about the India construction of road to Mansarovar of China through Lipu Lekh just two days after Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali told the House of Representatives that the government was aware of the Indian construction.
Addressing the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, PM Oli said he knew about the road only after inauguration on Friday.
"There is no way the government would not know about this construction," Minister Gyawali had said while answering questions raised by different lawmakers during the House of Representatives (HoR) meeting on Sunday. He had also revealed that India prepared the plan for road in 2005 and started construction in 2008 before intensifying the works from 2014.
Pointing that India has resorted to bullying, PM Oli during the Cabinet meeting stressed that the issue should be resolved through diplomacy, according to a minister.
Pointing that there is no use of chanting slogans in the streets, he also warned the ministers to not speak indiscriminately on the issue.
Inauguration of the Indian road via Lipu Lekh on Friday has been widely criticized in the country.
Nepal has consistently maintained that as per the Sugauli Treaty (1816), all the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) River, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh, belong to Nepal.
Nepal had also expressed its disagreement in 2015 through separate diplomatic notes addressed to the governments of both India and China when the two sides agreed to include Lipu Lekh Pass as a bilateral trade route without Nepal’s consent in the Joint Statement issued on 15 May 2015 during the official visit of the Prime Minister of India to China.
