On the recent decision of the Nepal government to introduce a new Rs. 100 currency note featuring a map including Indian territories, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has reacted saying that New Delhi’s position is very clear, adding that Kathmandu unilaterally took some measures on their side.
“I saw that report. I have not looked at it in detail, but I think our position is very clear. With Nepal, we were having discussions about our boundary matters through an established platform. And then in the middle of that, they unilaterally took some measures on their side. But by doing something on their side, they are not going to change the situation between us or the reality on the ground,” said Jaishankar while interacting with professionals in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar on “Why Bharat Matters.”
Notably, Nepal on Friday decided to feature a new political map of Nepal on 100 rupee banknotes, covering the contentious territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as part of its territory. Tension had soared between India and the land-locked Himalayan nation after the latter issued a political map in mid-May 2020, including the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, which India earlier had included in its November 2019 map.
The earlier map issued by Nepal in 2032 BS (1975) left Gunji, Nabhi and Kuri villages, which have now been included in the recently revised map, adding 335 square kilometres of land.
What soured ties?
On May 8, 2022, India inaugurated a road linking Kailash Mansarovar via Lipulekh, which caused resentment in Nepal and resultantly the diplomatic ties between both the nations worsened. Later, Nepal handed over a diplomatic note to India objecting to the move. Prior to the handover of the diplomatic note, Nepal also had strongly objected to India’s unilateral move to construct the road. Following Nepal’s objection, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said the road going through Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district “lies completely within the territory of India.”
(With ANI Inputs)
ALSO READ | Nepal’s new Rs 100 note to include map showing disputed territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani
