![\"Nepal](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-131445647,imgsize-128188,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/rabi-lamichhane.jpg\" "\\"Rabi")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nRabi Lamichhane, chief of Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), arrived in New Delhi on Monday for talks with senior BJP leaders even as street protests erupted in Kathmandu and opposition parties disrupted Parliament over PM Balendra \u2018Balen\u2019 Shah\u2019s remark that Nepal had \u201calso encroached on India\u2019s land\u201d. Protesters gathered near Parliament and key junctions in Kathmandu, demanding that Shah withdraw the statement and apologise, while opposition MPs said the remark “weakened” Nepal\u2019s claim over Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura.The controversy comes against a backdrop of growing irritants in India-Nepal relations. Nepal\u2019s stricter customs enforcement on goods brought from Indian markets has triggered protests in border towns and affected local trade. Debate has also intensified after Uttarakhand high court sought clarification on whether Nepali citizens enjoy unrestricted rights to settle and buy property in India under the 1950 India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Reports of anti-encroachment drives near sections of the India-Nepal border have added to the unease.Lamichhane leads a three-member RSP delegation on BJP\u2019s invitation for party-to-party talks at a crucial juncture. The five-day visit is being seen as the most significant political outreach by Nepal\u2019s ruling establishment to New Delhi since Shah took office. Lamichhane is scheduled to hold strategic meetings with BJP leaders, including BJP national president Nitin Nabin, to exchange views on democratic processes, governance and political outreach. High-level diplomatic meetings were also being explored with PM Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and national security advisor Ajit Doval. The delegation is expected to interact with members of the Nepali diaspora in India and will visit Ayodhya before returning to Kathmandu on June 5.BJP\u2019s foreign affairs in-charge Vijay Chauthaiwale said the visit was aimed at opening a regular political channel with RSP. \u201cBJP is seeking to establish a regular channel of communication with RSP,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is new for us too, but we are hopeful that it will set up a kind of regular dialogue between the two parties.\u201dBack home in Nepal, Shah had told Parliament on Sunday, \u201cAfter becoming PM, I came to know that not only has India encroached on Nepal\u2019s land, but Nepal has also encroached on India\u2019s land in multiple places.\u201d He added, \u201cBoth sides need to sit down and look into the matter.\u201d Shah said the dispute should be resolved through dialogue, diplomacy and technical consultations involving historians, surveyors and border experts.Govt insiders in Kathmandu said Shah\u2019s remark stemmed from technical briefings on unresolved border issues rather than any attempt to alter Nepal\u2019s territorial claims. \u201cThe PM was referring to local-level cross-border occupation, not a formal Nepali claim over Indian territory,\u201d a senior foreign ministry official said. \u201cIn several places along the open border, especially in no-man\u2019s-land and riverine stretches, people from one side may be cultivating or occupying land that technically falls on the other side because boundary pillars are missing, damaged or river courses have shifted.\u201dOpposition lawmakers called the statement \u201canti-national\u201d and demanded proof. Nepali Congress general secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma asked, \u201cWhat is RSP\u2019s stance on this issue? Are we the ones encroaching on someone else\u2019s territory, or are we the victims of encroachment?\u201dFormer Nepal ambassador to India Nilamber Acharya also criticised the PM\u2019s remarks. \u201cNepal has not encroached on Indian land,\u201d he said, adding that Nepal govt, as a state, had never occupied Indian territory. Another former envoy to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, questioned the basis of the PM\u2019s claim. \u201cNepal encroaching India\u2019s territory is not there in any record,\u201d he said. \u201cBorder disputes should be handled through historical documents, maps and diplomatic mechanisms, not through statements that create confusion about Nepal\u2019s established position.\u201dFacing mounting criticism, foreign ministry officials sought to contain the fallout by clarifying that Shah\u2019s remarks referred to cross-border occupation and unresolved demarcation issues along the open border, not a change in Nepal\u2019s official stance. Officials reiterated that Kathmandu\u2019s claim over Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura remained unchanged.<\/div>\n