Jhalnath Khanal States: ‘Balen’s Statement Is Dangerous, He Is Unfit to Be Prime Minister’
May 31, Kathmandu — Former Prime Minister and leader of the Nepal Communist Party, Jhalnath Khanal, has condemned Prime Minister Balen Shah’s claim that “Nepal has also encroached on Indian land” as false and anti-national. Khanal described such statements as “dangerous” and expressed that Balen is unfit to occupy the prime ministerial office.
“Yesterday, Prime Minister Balendra Shah stated in the House of Representatives that Nepal has encroached on Indian territory. This is a dangerous statement. It is extremely serious, unfortunate, incorrect, and anti-national,” Khanal wrote on Facebook. He further added, “The Nepalese people have been resisting foreign encroachments for a long time and continue to do so. Normalizing such acts and pandering to foreigners through such statements is an act against the nation.”
Khanal emphasized that the prime minister’s remarks hurt the patriotism of Nepal’s 30 million citizens both inside and outside the country. He stated, “Individuals who make anti-national statements like these are unfit to occupy the prime minister’s chair.” He also called on Prime Minister Balen to apologize, saying, “Unless Prime Minister Balendra Shah issues an apology, I strongly urge all patriotic citizens and forces to condemn and protest his remarks.”
Additionally, Khanal appealed to the Speaker of the Parliament to promptly remove this statement from the official parliamentary records. On Sunday, during a session of the House of Representatives, while responding to MPs, Balen Shah had claimed that Nepal itself has encroached on Indian territory. “You might be surprised, but I only realized after becoming prime minister that Nepal has encroached on Indian land in many places, not just India,” he said, adding that he recently became aware of this fact.
Balen also mentioned he has discussed border encroachments with the United Kingdom government. Following this controversial statement, widespread opposition against Balen Shah has emerged.