Prime Minister Balendra “Balen” Shah has landed in the center of a major political storm following his maiden address to the House of Representatives. Responding to lawmakers’ questions on the long-standing Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura territorial disputes, the Prime Minister made a startling assertion that has drawn severe backlash from both opposition benches and border experts.
“You may be surprised by one thing—I also came to know only after becoming the Prime Minister the other day that not only India has encroached on Nepal’s land, but Nepal has also encroached on many Indian lands in multiple places,” PM Shah told the rostrum.
The statement, delivered in response to questions from opposition lawmakers, including UML deputy parliamentary party leader Padma Aryal, instantly triggered chaos in the house.
The Backlash: Opposition Demands Record Expungion
The CPN-UML and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) led a fierce pushback against the Prime Minister’s phrasing.Opposition lawmakers accused Shah of delivering an “irresponsible” and “anti-national” statement that actively weakens Nepal’s sovereign leverage and historical claims.
Prominent party spokespersons argued that conflating local, cross-border agricultural land use with sovereign state-level military and political encroachment is a dangerous diplomatic blunder. Opposition leaders have formally demanded that the Prime Minister’s remarks be scrubbed entirely from the official parliamentary records, arguing they run completely counter to the spirit of the Constitution and Nepal’s 2020 updated political map.
Internationalizing the Table Talks: A Call to the UK
Beyond the encroachment controversy, PM Shah revealed that his administration is aggressively reshaping its diplomatic strategy to settle the borders permanently. He confirmed that official diplomatic notes have been sent to both New Delhi and Beijing.
Furthermore, Shah proposed bringing the United Kingdom into the negotiations. According to prime ministerial aides, Chief Advisor Kumar Byanjankar recently met with British Ambassador Rob Fenn to request historical maps and survey records. Because the border disputes stem from the interpretation of the 1816 Sugauli Treaty signed by British India, the Shah administration believes the UK holds critical archival evidence required for a final resolution.
Foreign Ministry Steps In to Control Damage
As public criticism mounted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) rushed to issue a technical clarification to reframe the Prime Minister’s words.
According to MoFA spokesperson Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri, the PM was not making a formal territorial concession but was instead pointing to the practical realities of the Dasgaja (no-man’s-land) and riverine shifting.
MoFA emphasized that India has already responded to Nepal’s diplomatic notes, agreeing to form joint expert teams comprising historians and surveyors to resolve outstanding issues strictly through table talks.