Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Wednesday said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath should be told that he cannot threaten the neighbouring country, The Hindu reported.

Adityanath had last week, referring to Nepal’s claim on the Kalapani area in India, said that the country should not repeat the mistake Tibet made. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister added that India and Nepal may be two political entities, but they have one soul, in the form of cultural, historical and mythological links.

“Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Adityanathji has said certain things about Nepal,” Oli said in the House of Representatives in the Nepal Parliament on Wednesday. “His comments are inappropriate and not legitimate. Someone in a responsible position in the central government [of India] should request him not to comment on issues that are not part of his domain and he should be told that comments that threaten Nepal will be condemned.”

Oli said that Nepal had other border disputes with India, like at Susta on the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border, but his government wishes to focus on the Kalapani problem at the moment. “Kalapani is the main dispute and we are confident that we will get our land back through diplomatic means as we have the evidences to prove that Nepal is the real owner of that area,” he said.

The Nepal prime minister said that India shows an artificial river as the basis of its claim on the region, and has built a temple to the deity Kali there. He added that India has stationed its armed forces in Kalapani since 1961-’62, but Nepal’s claim is based on historical documents and facts.

Oli was replying to queries from members of the Nepal Parliament on the Second Amendment to the country’s Constitution. On May 31, the Nepal government introduced a bill in Parliament aimed at altering the country’s map to show Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, three areas that fall within Indian territory, as falling within its borders. Nepal maintains that India has claimed the areas of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura by building a road over it.

The border dispute

The dispute began after New Delhi issued an official map last year, including the Kalapani and Lipulekh area that Nepal regards as its own. The tension escalated further after India inaugurated the 80-km road in Uttarakhand, which connects close to the Line of Actual Control and opens a new route for Kailash Mansarovar yatra via the Lipulekh pass. Nepal has repeatedly claimed this was a breach of an agreement between the two countries, but India has said the new route is “completely within the territory” of the country.

Oli had told the Nepalese Parliament earlier in May that his government would reclaim the disputed region. He had also blamed India for the spread of the coronavirus in his country.