Kathmandu, May 31: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has reiterated the government’s commitment to resolving border disputes with India through diplomatic channels.
Responding to lawmakers’ queries during a meeting of the House of Representatives on Saturday, Shah said the government is pursuing dialogue-based solutions and involving experts, surveyors and historians in discussions related to Nepal-India border issues.
“Efforts are being made to resolve the matter with the involvement of surveyors, experts and historians,” the prime minister said, adding that Nepal has also engaged with the British government on the issue.
According to Shah, the government has already sent an official diplomatic note to India regarding the disputed areas of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani. In response, both sides have agreed to address the matter through talks involving historians, surveyors, and experts familiar with the concerned territories.
“We have not only discussed the issue with India and China but also with the British government,” he said.
Shah noted that the border dispute dates back to the period following the departure of British India and stressed that the United Kingdom should also take an interest in the matter. “All these issues require resolution through diplomatic efforts,” he added.
However, he claimed that Nepal also seized some of India’s land. PM’s views on this issue raised widespread criciticism.
Earlier, CPN-UML lawmaker Padma Aryal had questioned the government over a trade route opened by India and China through territory claimed by Nepal and sought clarification from the prime minister.
Responding to a separate query from Nepali Congress lawmaker Arjun Narsingh KC, Shah said the government would review and act on all investigation reports, including those submitted by the National Human Rights Commission.
“All reports submitted to the government regarding various movements and incidents will be studied, and action will be taken accordingly,” he said. The prime minister also stated that the government would consider and implement most of the suggestions put forward by lawmakers.
PM Shah promises land to genuine squatters, landless ones
Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said the government will provide lands to the landless squatters presently residing in the government-managed facilities.
Responding to a query from lawmaker from the Shram Sanskriti Party, Aaren Rai, during a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) today, the PM reminded that citizens living in vulnerable settlements along riverbanks in the Kathmandu Valley were evacuated to safer areas.
PM Shah, who was also the former Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolis, reminded the House that he had urged the federal government to relocate such people from riverbanks and place them in holding centers during his tenure as head of the local government.
Though it was urged to manage lands for the genuine landless across the country, such call had not been yet addressed, he reminded, pledging to work towards that end.
“The position of the government and of our party Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is clear: genuine landless and squatters should have access to land. They must have. The squatters living along the riverbanks in the Kathmandu Valley were evacuated as a priority bearing in mind the recurring flooding incidents, sanitation concerns and other pressing issues they were facing. To address these challenges, they were moved to holding centres,” the PM explained.
Similarly, responding to a query from lawmaker Pramesh Hamal in the Lower House, the PM said the government had made plans for managing free education and healthcare services to the citizens from indigent communities.
He took time to say that Nepal had requested for the postponement of Nepal’s graduation from the Least Developed Countries (LDCS) to a middle-income country for a couple of years bearing in mind the tax issues in trade and exports after such graduation. Such a call was made to enable domestic products to be exported to various countries. At the moment, we need funds rather than the increased confidence, and our attention has been focused on generating funds.
“Communism, socialism sound good in speech,” he said, adding that during his tenure as Kathmandu Mayor, the implementation of a 10-percent scholarship quota for poor communities in private schools provided children from those communities with an opportunity to study in advanced colleges.
“This is socialism in a true sense,” the Prime Minister made it clear. According to him, the government is working to provide free healthcare and education facilities nationwide. #Nepal
