KATHMANDU, July 19: Nepali Communist Party (NCP) leader Bhim Rawal has criticized the government’s reported decision to remove Nepal’s new political map from the one-rupee coin, calling it a serious move against the country’s territorial integrity.
The Council of Ministers on July 16 approved the minting of newly designed Re 1 and Rs 2 coins by the Nepal Rastra Bank. According to reports, the redesigned one-rupee coin will replace the map of Nepal—including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani—with the image of a monastery.
Responding to the reports in a social media post on Sunday, Rawal said that if the reports are true, the decision would amount to another “serious anti-national act” following the prime minister’s earlier remarks that Nepal had encroached on a large amount of Indian territory.
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Rawal demanded that both the government and the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party immediately clarify the matter.
“If the government led by Prime Minister Balen Shah has indeed decided to remove the map of Nepal, including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, from the one-rupee coin and replace it with the image of the Lo Ghyakar Monastery, it will constitute another serious anti-national decision and a blow to Nepal’s territorial integrity,” Rawal said.
The Lo Ghyakar Monastery, located in Marang village of Mustang, is considered one of Nepal’s oldest monasteries and is believed to have been established by Guru Padmasambhava. According to reports, its historical significance is the reason it has been selected for the new coin design.
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