Kathmandu — Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen) has come under sharp criticism for allegedly making serious false statements during the House of Representatives session while answering questions from lawmakers. His remarks claiming that “Nepal has also encroached on Indian territory” and comments about China have sparked intense backlash from opposition parties.

Controversial Claim on Border Encroachment

In Sunday’s parliamentary session, Prime Minister Shah stated: “I came to know after becoming Prime Minister that it is not only India that has encroached — Nepal has also encroached on Indian land.”

Immediately after this statement, the Prime Minister left the House. Opposition parties interpreted his abrupt exit as an attempt to avoid further questioning.

Nepali Congress Chief Whip Basana Thapa strongly reacted, saying: “If Nepal has really encroached on Indian territory, then tell us where? If not, this is a serious lie and it should be removed from the parliamentary record.”

CPN- lawmaker Ramesh Mall also demanded that the Prime Minister’s “blatant lie” be expunged from the records.

Another Alleged Falsehood on China

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chief Whip Khushbu Oli caught another alleged inaccuracy. She pointed out that Prime Minister Shah claimed China had only qualified as a developed country two years ago.

Oli stated: “China is still officially categorized as a developing country. It is extremely unfortunate that the Prime Minister makes such casual and factually incorrect statements. One wonders what China must be thinking after hearing this from Nepal’s Prime Minister.”

She also accused the Prime Minister of violating parliamentary regulations.

Critical Analysis

This episode has raised serious questions about Prime Minister Balen Shah’s preparedness and maturity in handling sensitive national issues. Key concerns include:

• Making unsubstantiated and diplomatically risky claims on Nepal-India border issues without proper evidence.
• A pattern of leaving the House immediately after question-answer sessions, avoiding accountability.
• Careless statements on internationally sensitive matters that could embarrass the nation.

Experts and opposition leaders view the remark on Nepal encroaching Indian land as highly irresponsible, especially on a delicate issue like the border dispute with India. It is being seen as immature diplomacy and a lack of homework by the Prime Minister.

This comes even as PM Shah has been advising patience on issues like squatter (sukumbasi) management, saying “work that didn’t happen in 35 years cannot be done in 35 minutes.” Yet, his own statements in Parliament have created unnecessary controversy within minutes.

Opposition parties have formally drawn the Speaker’s attention and demanded that both controversial remarks by the Prime Minister be removed from the official record. The incident is likely to escalate tensions inside the House.