Nepal's Upper House unanimously endorses new map, including parts of Indian territory

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The Nepal Parliament, on June 18, passed the New Map Amendment Bill (Coat of Arms), that shows Indian territories as part of Nepal.

The Bill was passed by the Upper House of Nepal Parliament a while ago, with 57 votes in favour of the new map and no votes against the Bill. Now, the Bill only requires the assent of Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to come into effect.

BREAKING: NEPALI PARLIAMENT PASSES THE NEW MAP AMENDMENT BILL (COAT OF ARMS); THE UPPER HOUSE PASSED IT SHORT WHILE AGO. THE NEW MAP SHOWS INDIAN TERRITORIES AS NEPALI TERRITORY pic.twitter.com/xd0ZGVKXOH

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) June 18, 2020

Commenting on the development, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, head of Nepal’s ruling party, had said: “This is a historic occasion when the land we lost during the period of monarchy is being returned under the republican system. Nepal does not want to allow enmity to emerge with our southern neighbour from this issue. “I am confident that the long-standing issue relating to land encroachment will be resolved once and for all through dialogue and diplomatic efforts.”

In the month of May, India had already reacted sharply to the inclusion and cautioned that such “artificial enlargement” of Nepal’s territory will not be accepted. India has maintained that it has complete sovereignty over all the three areas that would be included in the new Nepal map.

Notably, this development comes at a time, India's relation with China has hit a new low due to the skirmishes being reported from eastern Ladakh over Chinese incursion.