The bill was supported by all the 258 lawmakers present and voting.
Nepal’s lower house on Saturday cleared a constitutional amendment bill to reflect its new map, a move that is seen to virtually make the boundary row a permanent irritant in relations between Kathmandu and New Delhi.
There has been no formal response from New Delhi yet to Saturday’s passage of the map at parliament’s special sitting. But an Indian official indicated New Delhi has “taken note of the government in Nepal manufacturing a boundary dispute” and is disappointed at the effort to “whip up sentiments against New Delhi”.
The (Second Amendment) Bill 2077, which was brought to include in the map of Nepal, Limpiyadhura, Lipulek and Kalapani, was supported by all the 258 lawmakers present and voting.
The territories are claimed by India, and Nepal government has said that they will ‘bring back the territory under Indian occupation for decades, at any cost’ even if the Himalayan nation has to ‘fight for it’.
Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Shivamaya Tumbahangphe presented a motion in today’s House asking for a clause-by-clause discussion on the Constitution of Nepal (Second Amendment) Bill.
The bill required a two-thirds majority of the current members of the House of Representatives to pass.
Law Minister Dr. Tumbahangphe had presented the bill to the House of Representatives on June 3 after the government registered a bill to amend the constitution in the federal parliament.
It was published in Nepalpatra on the same day for public information. In the meeting of the House of Representatives on June 10, Minister Dr. Tumbahangphe presented the ‘Constitution of Nepal (Second Amendment) Bill.
Hours before Nepal’s lower house had to vote on the new political map of the country, Army chief General MM Naravane underscored the strong people-to-people ties between the two countries that have lately soured.
“We have a very strong relationship with Nepal. We have geographical, cultural, historical, religious linkages. We have very strong people-to-people connect. Our relation with them has always been strong and will remain strong in the future,” General Naravane said.
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