"Indian army chief's statement is an insult to Nepal," Nepal's defense minister said

Nepal's Defense Minister has termed the statement of the Indian Army Chief regarding his country as an insult to Nepal and said that such statements can only be made by ignoring the history of Nepal.

At a time when relations between India and Nepal are strained over the border dispute, Nepal has lashed out at Indian Army Chief Manoj Makand Narwana's statement, saying a military chief should refrain from making statements of a political nature. ۔ Nepal's defense minister says Indian army chief has insulted Nepal.

According to some Indian media outlets, Nepal's Defense Minister Ishwar Pokhriyal, while talking to a local newspaper, strongly criticized the statement of the Indian Army Chief, saying that his statement also hurt the feelings of Gurkha soldiers of Indian origin. Has arrived "This statement is very insulting to Nepal," he said. This statement is an insult to Nepal's history, its social characteristics and its independence. With this, the Indian Army Chief has also hurt the feelings of those Gurkha soldiers of Nepal who have sacrificed their lives for the protection of India. And now it will not be easy for the Indian general to stand tall in front of the Gurkha soldiers. ”

The Nepalese Defense Minister said this while talking to the local newspaper 'The Rising Nepal'. Indian Army Chief General Manoj Makand Narwana had said last week that Nepal was objecting to the construction of the new route "at the behest of someone else". The Indian military chief was clearly referring to China. Nepal says such a statement is tantamount to questioning Nepal's sovereignty.

India has built an 80-kilometer new road in the disputed area bordering Nepal and China in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand. This route connects Uttarakhand with the Lipu Lekh Pass on the Tibetan border. Nepal says Lipu Lekh Pass is its own, while India rejects Nepal's claim. When India inaugurated the road earlier this month, Nepal had strongly objected, saying it was built on its territory and was not in favor of giving even an inch of its land to India.

Nepal has made a number of strong anti-India statements in recent days in response to the construction of the road, and during a debate in parliament, the Nepalese prime minister sharply criticized India. In response to a question, the Indian Army had hinted that Nepal was doing all this at the behest of China.

The Nepalese defense minister said in response to the Indian military chief's statement, "How professional is political rhetoric as a military chief? We don't have anything like that here. Nepal's army does not make noise on such issues. The military avoids such things. "

Nepal says that under the treaty it signed with the East India Company in 1816, it has a border with the Kali River in the west and any land in the east adjacent to the river is part of Nepal. Nepal has also recently changed its map in this regard and added the disputed areas to its new map. But India rejects Nepal's claims.

Political observers say the new road being built in the disputed area is of great importance from a defense point of view. With this new road, India now has direct access to the border with Nepal and China.

Defense analysts say relations between India and Nepal have traditionally been very good, but India's current foreign policy is such that it does not have good relations with almost all its neighbors. There was already tension with Pakistan and nowadays the armies of China and India are facing each other. Relations with Nepal are also deteriorating, while those with Sri Lanka are not the same.