Kathmandu/New Delhi: Nepal’s Parliament passed the Constitutional Amendment bill on Saturday in a special session updating the Country’s map. The map which includes a stretch of land high in the mountain that India claims as its own. The House of Representatives opened the discussion on the amendment bill, which was put for voting after the deliberations were over.

The Nepal Parliament house has a total strength of 275 members, out of them 258 members voted in favour of the Amendment bill, and the bill was passed by a 2/3^rd majority. India, reacting to the new map, said this artificial enlargement of claims is not tenable.

Anurag Srivatsava, spokesperson, India’s External Affairs Ministry on Saturday said that “We have noted that the House of Representatives of Nepal has passed a constitution amendment bill for changing the map of Nepal to include parts of Indian Territory. We have already made our position clear on this matter”.

“This artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical fact or evidence and is not tenable. It is also violative of our current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues,” he added.

The new map – made public last month – shows a sliver of land on the east of river Kali, jutting out from the northwestern tip of Nepal. The area includes the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and also Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, which are highly strategic areas which India has been guarding since the 1962 war with China. Last month, Nepal’s ruling party had cleared the map, drawing fierce reaction from India, which described the move as “unilateral” and not based on historical facts.