May 31, Kathmandu – Opposition parties have united against statements made by Prime Minister Balendra Shah. In a joint meeting held today with leaders of all opposition parties, they decided that the parliament will not proceed until the prime minister retracts his statements and issues an apology.
“Yesterday, the prime minister’s remarks in parliament regarding border encroachment were deemed treasonous,” said Yubaraj Dulal, Chief Spokesperson of the CPN. “The opposition demands that these statements be removed from the parliamentary records and that the prime minister apologize to the nation in parliament. Until then, the opposition will block parliamentary proceedings.”
Prime Minister Shah, who attended the parliament session on Sunday during an unexpected time slot, had stated while answering MPs that “Nepal has also encroached on India’s land.” This statement was immediately opposed by opposition lawmakers in Monday’s parliamentary session. Nepali Congress MP Basana Thapa questioned the claim that Nepal had encroached on Indian territory, and several other MPs expressed agreement with her. Following these objections, opposition parties convened a joint meeting at Singha Durbar. This was the first such assembly of opposition leaders from Congress, UML, CPN, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and the Labor and Culture Party since the elections held on February 3.
The impact of the joint meeting has been felt in the Federal Parliament, where sessions have been jointly obstructed in protest. The National Assembly has seen a near-unanimous opposition response to the statements, even though Rastriya Swatantra Party is absent. “No one in history has made such a statement unsupported by any facts, which many consider treasonous, especially when done by the prime minister during a parliamentary session. This situation demands unity among all of us,” said Prem Prasad Dangal, leader of the UML parliamentary group in the National Assembly. Leaders from Congress, UML, CPN, JSP, and Janamorcha in the National Assembly have held a joint meeting and resolved to pressure the prime minister to retract his remarks.
