The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) has decided to support the amendment bill registered in the House of Representatives (HoR) to amend the Constitution.
The meeting of NC office-bearers on Sunday has decided to support the bill to amend the schedule of the Constitution, wherein the map in the coat of arms does not include the territory including Limpiyadhura, to implement the new map.
The party will also convene central committee meeting to discuss the issue. " The meeting of NC office-bearers has decided to soon convene central committee meeting to take necessary decision on the issue of Constitution amendment proposed by the government," NC Chief Secretary Krishna Prasad Paudel told Setopati.
The party has reiterated that Lipu Lekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura to the east of Mahakali belongs to Nepal and urged the government to reclaim the encroached territory through diplomatic and political measures.
The government on Friday registered the Constitution amendment bill to implement the new map. Constitution amendment requires two-third majority of the House. The HoR meeting is scheduled to resume on May 26.
The government on Wednesday published the new map including Kalapani, Lipu Lekh and Limpiyadhura. The territorial area of Nepal has increased by 335 square kilometers with inclusion of the territory up to Limpyadhura.
The government last Monday passed the new map including Kalapani, Lipu Lekh and Limpiyadhura. The government in its policy and programs presented to the House on Friday had pledged to issue a new map including Limpiyadhura.
Inauguration of the Indian road via Lipu Lekh on May 8 has been widely criticized by the ruling and opposition parties alike.
The Foreign Ministry has already expressed regret over the unilateral construction and urged India to refrain from carrying out any activity inside the territory of Nepal. It then summoned the Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed a diplomatic note conveying Nepal's position on the issue.
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.
