Kathmandu (VT) | Prime Minister Balen Shah told Nepal’s House of Representatives on Sunday that Nepal has also encroached on Indian land in some places, a remark that prompted opposition lawmakers to demand its removal from the parliamentary record.
Shah made the comment while answering lawmakers’ questions on the government’s policies and programs.
Shram Sanskriti Party lawmaker Aren Rai asked Shah about the Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura boundary dispute. In response, Shah said he had learned only after becoming prime minister that the dispute was not limited to India encroaching on Nepali land.
“India has not only encroached on Nepal’s land — Nepal has also encroached on India’s land in many places,” Shah said.
He added: “We have encroached, they have encroached. Our thinking is to sit together as friends and resolve this.”
Opposition lawmakers demanded that Shah’s statement be removed from the parliamentary record.
The comment came a day before Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane was scheduled to travel to India with a three-member delegation. Lamichhane’s delegation was expected to hold high-level meetings in New Delhi, including with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah also answered a separate question from CPN-UML deputy leader Padma Aryal, who asked about Nepal’s position on trade route construction through Lipulekh involving India and China without Nepal’s involvement.
Shah said Nepal had already sent a diplomatic note to India on the Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura issue and received a response. He said both governments had discussed resolving the matter through talks involving historians, surveyors and people familiar with land records from each side.
Shah said Nepal had also raised the matter with China and the British government. He said Nepal believes Britain should have a role because the dispute traces back to the period when the British left India.
“This will be resolved through table talks and diplomatic means,” Shah told lawmakers.
In the same session, Aren Rai also asked about people described as landless squatters currently staying in holding centers in the Kathmandu Valley. Shah said residents had been moved from risky riverbank areas because of flooding, sanitation and public health concerns. He said the government would provide land to people who have none anywhere in the country.
“Sukumbasis should get land. That is the belief of the government and our party,” Shah said.
Lawmaker Mahavir Pun asked Shah about voting rights for Nepalis living abroad. Shah said the government is studying two options for the next election — embassy-based voting or a technology-assisted system — but that concerns about undue influence on mobile voting remain unresolved.
Pun also raised concerns about problems with the Sutra software system. Shah said he would direct the IT minister to address the issue immediately.
Shah currently holds the defense, home affairs, and science, technology and innovation portfolios in addition to the prime ministership.
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