UML Leader Rijal Objects to Foreign Minister’s ‘We Will Not Carry Old Baggage’ Remark, Demands Clarification

Kathmandu. CPN-UML leader Bishnu Rijal has taken exception to the phrase “we will not carry old baggage” used by Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal during his talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and has demanded an explanation from the government.

Taking to social media, leader Rijal demanded a definition of which historical issues with India Nepal has deemed as “old baggage.” Noting that numerous matters between Nepal and India remain to be resolved through diplomatic dialogue, Rijal expressed suspicion over whether the government was seeking to avoid raising pending bilateral issues in the name of “not carrying old baggage.”

Rijal raised four serious questions: “Is the proposal to hold talks on Nepal’s encroached territories, including Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura, and the long-standing proposal to review the 1950 Treaty, ‘old baggage’? Is the unanimous report prepared by the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) constituted by both countries, and the proposal to implement the Mahakali Treaty signed 30 years ago but not yet implemented, old baggage?”

Stating that the use of words in diplomacy is linked to the continuity of the state, leader Rijal stressed the need for a necessary debate within the country on these serious matters of national concern. Foreign Minister Khanal is currently on an official visit to India.