After months of bilateral tension over the Kalapani territorial dispute, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to hold a telephonic conversation with his Nepalese counterpart K.P. Sharma Oli during the coming weekend. A Nepalese news outlet has reported from capital Kathmandu that the veteran Communist leader who spearheaded the recent move to include the disputed Kalapani region into the new political map of the Himalayan country will convey his greetings to Mr. Modi on the Independence Day of India on Saturday.
“On August 15, that is on the 73rd Independence Day of India, our Prime Minister will greet his Indian counterpart to exchange greetings and discuss issues of bilateral interest and mutual benefit,” reported Janaastha, a news organisation of Kathmandu.
The Nepalese side had earlier informed that discussions about restarting dialogue on the border issue had been ongoing for sometime at a lower official level. However, India had not shown any interest to send Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to discuss the Kalapani and Susta border disputes which have soured bilateral ties since November 2019 when India published a new political map asserting New Delhi’s territorial control over these regions.
Situation worsened when on May 8, India inaugurated the Dharchula-Lipulekh link road in the same region which is part of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. The Nepalese side reacted by publishing a new political map which showed the extent of Nepal’s claims over Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura triangle. The map was given legal status after both the houses of the Nepalese Parliament passed the Second Constitution Amendment bill in June.
Earlier The Hindu had reported that Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shankar Bairagi and the Indian ambassador to Kathmandu Vinay Mohan Kwatra are expected to meet “soon” to discuss all development-related projects that the two sides are working on. The planned meeting which is expected to be held as early as on 17 August will not include the border dispute as it can be handled only by the Foreign Secretaries of two sides. However, the discussion will receive a boost if Mr. Modi and Mr. Oli can break the ice on August 15.
Significantly, Nepal on Wednesday announced that it will seek ID-cards from visitors who enter the country through the border with Uttar Pradesh-Bihar region. The scheme will be limited to Nepalese citizens for the time being as entry of foreign citizens into Nepal is banned because of COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa declared that this will be the new de facto policy for “visitors”. That apart, another issue that may pose a difficult challenge to resolve is the new allegation from the leaders of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who have blamed Nepal for failing to stop the monsoon floods in the northern Indian plains.
The Ministry of External Affairs has maintained silence and did not comment when asked about the likely discussion between the two Prime Ministers.
