KATHMANDU: Opposition lawmakers protested on Tuesday’s House of Representatives session demanding that controversial border remarks made by Prime Minister Balendra Shah be immediately expunged from the parliamentary record.

Leading the protest, Nepali Communist Party MP Pramesh Hamal and CPN (UML) MP Tuka Hamal urged Speaker DP Aryal to issue a ruling forcing the Prime Minister to clarify his stance.

Additionally, Hamal questioned whether the Lipulekh border issue was being raised during the Foreign Minister’s current visit to China, while also calling for diplomatic action regarding unauthorized Indian military helicopter flights over Darchula and challenges facing the Nepali tea industry.

Echoing the demand to expunge the Prime Minister’s statements, lawmaker Harka Raj Rai pressed the government to address critical sovereignty and public land disputes.

Rai urged an immediate investigation into reports that India has constructed a high dam in Rautahat, blocking the Lalbakaiya and Bagmati rivers and causing severe flooding on Nepali territory.

Furthermore, he drew the Speaker’s attention to long-standing land ownership grievances, calling for resolutions for residents in Rajbiraj who have lacked land deeds for 85 years, and settlers in Ramdhuni who have waited 66 years.

Rai concluded by demanding justice for victims of fake land scams and the numerous citizens staging prolonged protests at Maitighar Mandala.