'Akhand Bharat' mural in new Parliament: Nepal netas raise concern

As Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal embarks on a 4-day visit to India on May 31, he will have a new issue to deal with besides the set agenda for meetings and engagements.

The 'Akhand Bharat' mural placed inside the newly inaugurated Indian Parliament seems to have irked the political opposition as well as the ruling party alike in Nepal.

Former PM of Nepal KP Sharma Oli has termed the mural 'unfair' and said that if a country like India puts Nepali territories on its map as a model of democracy, then it cannot be called fair.

Prime Minister Dahal also assured his party lawmakers that he would inquire about the mural with Indian officials.

The designers of the mural have claimed that it portrays the influence of ancient Indian thought, and has been referred to by some Indian politicians as a representation of ‘Akhand Bharat’, or unified India.

The map includes parts of several neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.