18 Jestha, Khotang – Student organizations in Khotang have burned an effigy of Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen). The protest was triggered by a controversial statement made by Prime Minister Balen in the House of Representatives on Sunday, where he remarked that “Nepal has also encroached upon India’s border.” In response, on Monday evening, student groups here protested by burning his effigy.
The Nepal Student Union (NSU), All Nepal National Independent Students Union (Revolutionary), and other student groups conducted the effigy burning in Diktel on 18 Jestha evening. The students also vocally protested against the Prime Minister at Kirat Chowk in Diktel, condemning his statement as undermining Nepal’s national sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, and demanded his resignation. Earlier on Sunday afternoon, these student organizations had submitted a memorandum to the District Administration Office, expressing that the Prime Minister’s remarks on the Nepal-India border were objectionable, irresponsible, and defeatist.
Similarly, the Labor Culture Party of Khotang also held a protest against Prime Minister Balen’s statement. The party organized a brief demonstration with symbolic slogans at Ratnapark in Diktel on Monday.
