Nepalese PM Oli raises India-China Lipulekh trade route issue with China’s Xi Jinping
Kathmandu (PTI): Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Saturday raised an objection to an agreement reached between India and China to use Lipulekh as a trade route during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, according to his secretariat.
Nepal claims Lipulekh as its own territory, a claim that India has categorically rejected as "neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence."
"Prime Minister Oli, on the occasion, clearly raised its objection to the agreement reached between India and China to use Lipulekh, a Nepalese territory, as a trade route," the PM's secretariat said in a statement quoting Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai.
“Nepal believes that China will cooperate with Nepal in this regard," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying in the statement.
The two leaders also agreed to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation, it said.
"They also agreed to move forward the bilateral mechanism for enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries," the statement added.
Oli reached Tianjin Saturday afternoon. He held a bilateral meeting with President Xi in the Guest House situated in Tianjin.
Prime Minister Oli is accompanied by his spouse Radhika Shakya, Minister for Science and Education Raghuji Panta, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Pandey and other high-level government officials. He is on an official visit to China to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
