Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel says: The Prime Minister did not make any statement that would create controversy.
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Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel, who is also the government's spokesperson, has said that Prime Minister Balendra Shah did not make a statement that Nepal has also encroached on Indian land. Minister Pokharel defended Prime Minister Shah while making the cabinet decisions public on Tuesday.
However, in the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Shah had stated that efforts were being made to resolve the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura disputes diplomatically and said that both countries had encroached on each other's land. Prime Minister Shah had said, 'You may find one thing surprising. I also came to know after becoming Prime Minister recently that not only India has encroached on Nepal's land, but Nepal has also encroached on Indian land in many places.'
However, Minister Pokharel tried to clarify on Tuesday that the Prime Minister had said that he was surprised when the other side came to know that Nepal had also encroached on the border while moving forward with the work related to the border dispute. Minister Pokharel said, 'What the Prime Minister said is that he was surprised when the other side said that Nepal had also encroached on the border while taking forward the work related to the border dispute.' He had also mentioned the same matter in the House.'
Minister Pokharel also mentioned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already given its clarification after the Prime Minister's statement. The same day, after Prime Minister Shah's statement became controversial, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had tried to clarify it by issuing a statement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said that the Prime Minister had raised the issue of 'cross-border land tenure' in Parliament.
Repeating the same thing on Tuesday, Minister Pokharel said, 'The issue that in some places the land being used by India may fall on Nepal's side and the land being used by Nepal may fall on India's side has been raised by those mechanisms. The Prime Minister's view is that the two countries should sit down and resolve disputes through mutual discussions on such issues. The Prime Minister did not make any statement that would create a dispute.''
Minister Pokharel claimed that the Prime Minister had said that he was surprised to hear the matter. He further said, 'He only expressed his opinion in the context of saying that he was surprised to hear such a matter.'' Therefore, it is appropriate to listen to the statement made by the Prime Minister in the House once again.''
