Nepal has also encroached on some Indian territories, Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on Sunday (May 31, 2026), in what is believed to be the first such public statement by a head of a Nepali government.
Mr Shah was responding to a lawmaker’s question in Parliament regarding the Kalapani area, which is disputed between Nepal and India, and both countries claim sovereignty over it.
Mr Shah said, “You may find it strange, but I also recently – after becoming Prime Minister – came to know that not only India but even Nepal has encroached on Indian territories at many places.”
MPs from Nepali Congress and Nepal Communist Party demanded that the Prime Minister clarify where exactly Nepal has encroached into Indian territory and demanded his comments be removed from the record.
Nepali Congress chief whip Basna Thapa said, “There are border disputes between Nepal and India. But the Prime Minister said that Nepal has encroached on Indian territory.” “Where exactly has this happened? The Prime Minister should apprise the House of this. This is a serious and objectionable statement.”
Saying that the Prime Minister has spoken without factual basis on the border issue between the two countries, he demanded that the statement be expunged from the parliamentary record.
Nepal Communist Party MLA Ramesh Malla said the Prime Minister’s remarks from the parliamentary platform could harm national integrity.
“This is no small matter,” said Mr. Malla. “I think he would have treated the content as if it was something said in an informal conversation. This is a very serious issue. Can the head of government or head of state of any country stand on a stage and say that they have encroached on the land of another country? How serious is this?”
Sunday’s address to Parliament was the first speech by Mr Shah, a senior leader of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, since he took office on March 27 following elections earlier that month, the first since the Gen Z protests in September last year.
Earlier he had faced criticism for his reluctance to address Parliament and absence from parliamentary sessions.
Mr Shah did not address the first meeting of the newly elected Parliament on April 2. On May 11, when President Ram Chandra Paudel was presenting the government’s policies and programmes, Mr Shah walked out midway. The next day, he again broke parliamentary tradition by refusing to answer questions on policies and programs.
However, on Sunday (May 31), Mr Shah suddenly raised his hand, expressing his willingness to answer MPs’ questions.
Saying that the Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani disputes would be resolved through talks, he also remarked that Nepal had encroached on Indian territory.
The region, located on the north-western border, has long been a subject of tension between Nepal and India and the dispute resurfaced recently when India announced the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via the Lipulekh route.
After this Nepal sent diplomatic notes to both India and China. However, India maintains that the Lipulekh Pass is a historic trade and pilgrimage route within its territory.
Nepal staked its claim on the region in 2020 during KP Sharma Oli’s tenure as prime minister, when the government amended the constitution to include Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani in its official map. The move followed the publication of a new political map of India in November 2019, which showed the region within Indian territory.
Mr Shah, 36, became Nepal’s prime minister after serving as mayor of Kathmandu for three and a half years. During his mayoral tenure, he was known for his “nationalist” stance. At one point, he even displayed a “Greater Nepal” map in his office, reportedly in response to the “Akhand Bharat” map displayed in the Indian Parliament.
Within two months in office, Mr Shah has adopted a more assertive foreign policy, refusing one-on-one meetings with foreign officials and ambassadors. A scheduled visit by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on 11 May was postponed, largely due to Mr Shah’s refusal to allocate time for the meeting.
Mr Shah’s comments on Sunday came just a day before the scheduled visit of his party president Rabi Lamichhane to New Delhi. Mr Lamichhane is scheduled to meet senior officials in Delhi during his five-day visit.
However, border experts say Mr Shah’s statement that Nepal has encroached on Indian territory is not supported by facts.
During the House meeting on Sunday, Mr Shah said that the Nepal government has received a reply to its diplomatic note from India.
“We have communicated not only with India and China but also with England,” he said, referring to the United Kingdom. “Our stand is that since the dispute dates back to when the British left India, England should also be concerned about this matter. All these issues should be resolved through dialogue and diplomatic table talks.”
Government. issues statement
Following an uproar over Mr Shah’s remarks, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry later issued a statement, clarifying that the issue raised by the Prime Minister was “primarily related to encroachment in the Dasgaja area (no-man’s land)” and “cross-border occupation” – that is, the use or occupation of land across the border.
“Since Nepal and India have adopted the fixed boundary principle in riverine border areas while demarcating boundaries, situations have arisen where citizens of one country cultivate land or live on land falling within the territory of the other country,” the ministry said.
The ministry said, “Studies conducted by the technical committee have shown that, at some places, the land currently being used and occupied by Nepal may actually fall on the Indian side of the border…”. “The Prime Minister’s statement in Parliament that ‘at some places, Indian land may be in favor of Nepal’ was made in the context of this technical reality and the issue of cross-border occupation.”
The ministry said, in keeping with the spirit of close relations between Nepal and India, the Government of Nepal is committed to resolving the boundary issues through diplomatic negotiations on the basis of historical treaties, agreements and maps.
published – May 31, 2026 06:16 PM IST
