Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said on Sunday that the Kalapani area at the tri-junction of Nepal, India and Tibet belongs to Nepal and “India should immediately withdraw its army from there”.
India recently released official maps of the country that included Kalapani, an area located on the western edge of Nepal. Oli’s response to the map triggered controversy in Nepal. While there was no official response from Delhi, sources reiterated that the maps depicted India’s “sovereign territory accurately” and there had been no revision in the boundary with Nepal.
Nepal’s PM KP Sharma Oli while addressing the ruling Nepal Communist Party’s youth wing, the Nepal Yuva Sangam said, “We will not allow even an inch of our territory to be occupied by any country, India must vacate it.”
He later declined rumours suggesting that Nepal came out with an amended map including the contested areas. Dialogue will follow after India “withdraws its army from our land”, Oli said.
The ruling, as well as the opposition party in Nepal, protested against India’s maps. Participants at an all-party meeting called by Oli three days ago, including former prime ministers and ex-foreign ministers, asked him to take up the issue with India immediately.