The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Monday expressed concerns over India Today report, saying that it had taken words of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Nepali Madhesi community out of context.

Addressing a public gathering in Lucknow after unveiling an outpost of Sashastra Seema Bal on Sunday, Singh said the Indian government is concerned about Indians living in Nepal considering its present political situation. “Although the Madhesi problem is an internal issue of Nepal, the Indian government will protect the interests of the one crore Indians living there,” the online edition of India Today reported.

But the embassy said Singh never made such remarks. “Singh has denied making any such statement at the event in Maharajgunj, Uttar Pradesh,” the embassy stated. “The Madhesi issue, he said, was required to be addressed by the Nepalese themselves.”