PM Balen Shah got into trouble by giving statement on Indian soil, Nepal government had to give clarification

New Delhi: Nepal’s newly elected Prime Minister Balendra Shah alias Balen Shah is embroiled in serious controversies regarding one of his recent statements. During the ongoing discussion in Parliament on the country’s border disputes, he remarked that not only India has occupied Nepal’s land. Rather, Nepal has also encroached on the land of Indian territory.

There was a commotion in the corridors

After this shocking claim of the Prime Minister, there was a stir in the domestic politics and diplomatic circles of Nepal. Due to which, within a few hours, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry was forced to issue an official clarification on this.

What did PM Balen Shah say

According to Nepali media ‘The Kathmandu Post’, while answering the sharp questions of the MPs during the Parliament session on Sunday, Prime Minister Balen Shah had said, after taking oath as the Prime Minister, I came to know the technical truth that not only India has encroached on our border but Nepal has also occupied Indian land at many places. He appealed to both the countries to sit together like friends and study the facts and resolve this issue once and for all.

cross-border farming case

After huge opposition and all-round criticism, Nepal Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Paudel Chhetri issued a written statement defending the Prime Minister’s statement. The ministry clarified that Prime Minister Shah’s comments were not aimed at laying sovereign claim on any part of India. He was mainly referring to local encroachment in no-man’s-land and ‘cross-border occupation’ by people from across the border.

practical problems

Explaining the diplomatic complications, the ministry said that practical problems are being faced due to the implementation of ‘fixed boundary principle’ in the riverine border areas and the border pillars are missing at many places. Investigation by a technical committee has revealed that local citizens on both sides are unknowingly farming or living on land under each other’s jurisdiction. The land currently held by Nepali citizens may technically be on the Indian side and similarly some land held by Indians may come under the Nepali side.

Disputes will be resolved through diplomatic talks

Amid this heated debate, Prime Minister Balen Shah reiterated that Nepal and India should take the help of historians, surveyors and experts to resolve their historical and geographical issues. He made it clear that the main border disputes related to Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani will be resolved only through bilateral diplomatic talks. The Government of Nepal is committed to maintaining strong diplomatic relations on the basis of the Sugauli Treaty (1816).