India’s Army Chief denies ‘contradiction’ in the link road constructed via Lipu Lekh

KATHMANDU: Amid protests in Nepal against India’s inauguration of the new Kailash-Mansarovar road via Nepal’s Lipu Lekh, India’s Army Chief General Manoj Naravane has denied of any contradiction on the newly constructed road.

Speaking at a think-tank organised on webinar on Friday, Gen. Naravane claimed that there had been no contradictions at all in the new road constructed via Lipu Lekh.

“There is no ‘contradiction at all’ in the new road constructed via Lipu Lekh pass up to the Line of Actual Line of Control (LAC) to shorten travel time for Indian pilgrims going to Kailash-Mansarovar,” Gen Naravane said, adding, “Nepal may have raised the issue at the behest of someone else.”

There has been a wide protest against the Indian move considering it as an ‘encroachment’ of Nepal’s territory.

Nepal, too, has strongly protested the construction of the road and called on India to refrain from carrying out any activities inside its territory.

Citing at the Nepal’s ambassador’s concern on the issue, he claimed that India has respected what Nepal has claimed as its land.

“In fact, the Nepalese Ambassador has mentioned that the area east of the Kali river belongs to them. There is no dispute in that whatsoever,” he said, “The road which we made is, in fact, to the west of the river. So, I don’t know what they are agitating about.”

Although he confessed that there are some ‘little issues’ in the trijunction, he reiterated that the newly constructed road lies on the Indian side.

Commenting on the protest, he hinted that the issue could have been so raised now by Nepal at some other country’s interest. “There is reason to believe that they might have raised the issue at the behest of someone else and that is very much a possibility,” he said.

India’s Defence Minister Raj Nath Singh inaugurated the the new 80-km road built by the Border Roads Organisation from Ghatibagarh in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh last week.

According to sources, the road was made under the directions of the China Study Group and is funded by the Indo-China Border Roads.