26 May 2020, Kathmandu
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has urged the leaders of the political parties to endorse the constitution amendment proposal registered by the government in the parliament with unanimous consent.
Prime Minister Oli urged to vote in favor of the amendment proposal to send out a message of national unity in an all-party meeting convened at the PM’s residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday,
Speaking at the meeting, Nepali Congress (NC) leaders told the prime minister that they will decide on the issue after holding a meeting of the party’s central committee.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula said that NC was with the government on the border issue and would take a decision from the central committee meeting.
Leaders of the Janata Samajwadi Party, during the meeting, urged the prime minister to take forward their demands along with this amendment of the constitution.
The government had earlier registered the Constitution amendment bill to amend the schedule of the Constitution as a coat of arms in the old map does not include the Limpiyadhura, Lipu Lekh and Kalapani.
It should be noted that a constitution amendment requires two-third majority of the House of Representatives.
Even though the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is short of a two-thirds majority, Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition, has extended its support to the government for the amendment.
The government last week published Nepal’s revised map including Lipu Lekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura, with the cabinet endorsing it on May 18.
With the inclusion of this territory, the total territorial area of Nepal increased by some 335 square kilometers.
Nepal has been maintaining that as per the Sugauli Treaty of 1816, the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) River, including Kalapani, Lipu Lekh, and Limpiyadhura, belong to Nepal.
