External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar criticised Nepal’s decision to print a new Rs-100 currency note featuring a map that includes areas under Indian control as unilateral.
Reacting strongly to this move on Saturday, the union minister noted that Kathmandu’s decision will not change the situation or the ground reality.
“Our position is very clear. With Nepal, we are having discussions about our boundary matters through an established platform. In the middle of that, they unilaterally took some measures on their side,” Jaishankar stated.
On Friday, Nepal announced the issuance of a new Rs 100 currency note featuring a map that includes the disputed territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani—a move previously denounced by India as “artificial enlargement” and “untenable.”
The council of ministers, chaired by Nepali Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ decided to introduce the new map of Nepal on the Rs 100 banknotes.
“The cabinet approved to re-design the banknote of Rs 100 and replace the old map printed in the background of the bank note during the cabinet meetings held on April 25 and May 2,” the Nepal government spokesperson said.
According to a report by The Indian Express, relations between New Delhi and Kathmandu deteriorated following India’s inauguration of a new road in May 2020 from Dharchula to Lipulekh on the Mansarovar Yatra route.
This move sparked anger from the government in Kathmandu at the time, led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. In response, Nepal released a new map, incorporating an area of 370 square kilometers at the tri-junction of Nepal, India, and China, which India asserts as its territory.
A temporary breakdown in communication between the two nations ensued after Nepal’s parliament passed a Constitution amendment Bill to legitimise the alteration to the country’s map by adding Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura.
Move ‘Unwise, Provocative’
Meanwhile, the latest decision by the Prachanda government has garnered skepticism and criticism at home. Former diplomats and past Governors of the Nepal central bank have openly criticised it as “unwise” and “provocative”.
Chiranjibi Nepal, former Governor of Rastra Bank and economic advisor to President Ram Chandra Poudel, told the publication that the decision made by the Nepal government is untimely and lacks consideration of its broader implications.
“Nepal being in dispute with India over certain parts of territory is one thing, but printing in the currency a map that is different from what the international bodies, including two neighbours, have recognised is unwise,” Chiranjibi noted.
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