Rajendra Prasad Pandey Blasts Nepal Government Over Squatter Evictions and Marginalized Communities

Nepali Communist Party leader Rajendra Prasad Pandey has launched a sharp attack on Nepal's current government, accusing it of working against landless squatters, the poor, and other marginalized communities. Speaking at a national gathering of the All Nepal Women's Organization in Kathmandu, Pandey said the administration was formed through a conspiracy and claimed its recent actions reflect hostility toward vulnerable people.

His remarks come at a tense moment in Nepal, where eviction drives against squatter and unmanaged settlements have already displaced thousands of people in recent weeks. Local authorities have been clearing structures on public land and riverbanks, with officials saying some settlements were removed because they sat in high-risk flood zones ahead of the monsoon season.

A political attack tied to land evictions

Pandey's criticism appears closely linked to the country's ongoing land and settlement dispute. Recent reporting shows that more than 1.2 million landless people in Nepal still lack secure land or shelter, underscoring how deeply rooted the issue is. Government officials have said they are trying to identify genuine squatters and create relocation plans, but the pace of demolitions has triggered backlash from rights groups and affected communities.

In Kathmandu, demolition campaigns have already hit multiple settlements, including areas such as Thapathali, Sinamangal, Jadibuti, Manohara, and Balkhu. The scale of displacement has raised questions about whether the state is balancing public safety, land management, and human rights effectively.

Why the controversy matters now

Pandey framed the issue as more than a land-management dispute, linking it to broader political instability and what he described as destructive movements aimed at weakening parliament. That framing suggests the debate over squatter settlements has become a proxy battle over power, legitimacy, and the government's treatment of disadvantaged groups.

The land question has long been one of Nepal's most politically sensitive issues. The state has repeatedly struggled to distinguish between genuine landless households and other encroachers, while local governments have often lacked the resources to manage relocations cleanly. That tension has now intensified as eviction operations expand and criticism from politicians and activists grows louder.

What happens next

The government is under pressure to show that its eviction policy is not simply a crackdown on the poor. At the same time, it faces demands to protect public land, reduce flood risk, and prevent further disorder around unregulated settlements.

With opposition leaders now openly accusing the administration of targeting the marginalized, the dispute over landless squatters is likely to remain a major political flashpoint in Nepal.