Nepal PM Balen Shah’s Border Remarks Spark Controversy, Foreign Ministry Steps In to Clarify

Kathmandu: There was uproar in Nepal's Parliament on Sunday. Prime Minister Balendra Shah, also known as Balen Shah while speaking said that India has occupied Nepal's land and Nepal has also occupied Indian land at many places. When the statement came out there was an uproar. People thought that Balen had directly laid claim to Indian territory.

Why did the Foreign Ministry have to give clarification? 

When the controversy over the statement increased, Nepal's Foreign Ministry had to immediately go into damage control. According to The Kathmandu Post, the ministry gave its clarification on Sunday itself. Said that the PM did not mean to claim any new area. He was talking about the occupation and use of land by people on both sides of the border.

What did Balen Shah actually say in Parliament? 

Answering the questions of the MPs, Balen said that after becoming PM, he came to know that the game of occupation is not one-sided. If India has taken Nepal's land, Nepal has also taken India's land at many places. After this, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Paudel Chhetri said that the PM was talking about encroachment and cross-border occupation in no-man's-land i.e. Dasgaja area.

What is the issue of Dasgaja area? 

The ministry said that the Nepal-India border in riverine areas was decided on the fixed boundary principle. The problem with this was that at some places the Indian people were farming on the land on the Nepali side and at some places the Nepali people were living on the land on the Indian side. A study by a technical committee also revealed that the land that Nepal is using may belong to India on paper, and the land that India is using may belong to Nepal.

What was the real meaning of Balen's statement? 

The Ministry of External Affairs made it clear that the PM's statement was related to this technical truth. Meaning neither Nepal made a new claim nor asked for India's land. Just told that the use of land on the border is messed up. People are crossing the border and doing farming.

What did Balen say on Lipulekh-Kalapani? 

In the same Parliament session, Balen also said that all border issues should be resolved by Nepal and India together. The dispute of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani will also be resolved only through diplomatic talks. Overall, Balen's statement was not on the politics of occupation but on the technical problem of the border. But the manner of speaking was such that the Ministry of External Affairs had to rush to clarify.