Ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress has called the recent agreement between India and China to conduct border trade through Lipulekh “objectionable” and “unacceptable.” The deal was reached during a meeting of the two countries’ foreign ministers in New Delhi.
Speaking during a special session of Parliament on Thursday, Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa said, “We read, heard, and learned that our two neighbors, India and China, signed an agreement in our absence regarding our territory. The Nepali Congress expresses serious disagreement with this conduct by our neighbors. It is objectionable and unacceptable.”
Thapa urged the government to move forward with its own initiatives on the Lipulekh issue by involving all concerned stakeholders. “The government should take everyone on board as it advances initiatives on this matter, and we strongly call for that,” he said.
He further stressed that all political parties must stand united on the issue and warned against using it for domestic political gain. “We stood together yesterday, we must stand together today. On behalf of the Nepali Congress, I urge all parties to unite on this. Our differences and political competition remain, but let us not make this a subject of domestic politics, nor should we fall into the trap of extreme nationalism,” Thapa cautioned.
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