India had been saying that it would return its post in Darchula if the Nepal-India Joint Technical Boundary Committee decided that Kalapani belonged to Nepal after discussions. However, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu had published a statement on 20 Jestha 20, 2055 BS, claiming that Nepal's encroached land Kalapani belonged to it and that there had been an Indo-Tibetan Border Post (ITBP) at that location in Darchula since the 19th century. 

The Indian Embassy's formal claim came after the All Nepal National Independent Students' Union (ANNISU), a sister organization of the CPN-Maoist that split from the UML, met the Indian Ambassador to Nepal KV Rajan and informed him that they would march from Kathmandu to Kalapani. This was the first time the embassy had made its formal position on the issue of Kalapani public in recent times. This statement from India had made Nepal more suspicious. In response, the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had said that Kalapani belonged to Nepal on the basis of documents and maps. He reminded Indian President KR Narayan that he had informed him that Kalapani belonged to Nepal. President KR Narayan had paid a three-day visit to Nepal from 2016 to 2018. During the meeting held on the same occasion, Koirala had said that Kalapani belonged to Nepal. However, after receiving the memorandum from the ANSF, the embassy claimed that Kalapani belonged to it. The embassy had also expressed dissatisfaction with the ANSF march pass. 

In a meeting with media persons in Baluwatar, Prime Minister Koirala had said, "We will not compromise on national unity and sovereignty." The maps prepared by the then British India in 1837, 1854 and 1905 clearly showed that Kalapani belonged to Nepal. Punya Prasad Oli, former Director General of the Survey Department, had said that India had confirmed that Kalapani belonged to Nepal in the maps prepared by itself. Oli had worked for a long time on the joint committee on the border dispute. 

Bamdev's argument for taking up arms 

ANNFSU President Yogesh Bhattarai had said that the march from Kathmandu to Kalapani would not be stopped. Addressing the students going to the march at a program organized at Ratna Park, MALE General Secretary Bamdev Gautam had stated that they should be ready to take up arms if necessary to remove the Indian army from Kalapani. He had declared that all MALE members would be sacrificed if necessary. ANNFSU had addressed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and submitted a letter to the Resident Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Carol Long, making its appeal on the issue of Kalapani.

Similarly, refuted the embassy's statement, UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal had said that if the dispute is not resolved in time and the Arpu military camp in Kalapani is removed, it will have an adverse impact on Nepal-India relations. He had said that Nepal will not give up even 'one inch' of its land. He had held a press conference in Balkhu on Jestha 25 and asked India not to set eyes on Nepal's land. He had asked India to understand Nepal's sensitivity.  

The Nepal-India Mahakali Integrated Development Treaty was passed by two-thirds of the votes a year and a half ago, i.e. in 2053 Asoj. At that time, a joint parliamentary committee was formed under the coordination of the Speaker to implement and monitor the national resolution and the treaty. The committee had been repeatedly urging both governments to resolve the Kalapani problem. The context of Kalapani, which has become a national issue politically from time to time, has remained the same until now. How did the dispute arise three decades ago? What was the stance of Nepal and India? The news prepared by focusing on these contexts was published by Kantipur Daily on 26th Jestha 2055 under the title ‘Kalapani Nepal: Prime Minister’.