Visit visa scam: Nepal govt forms probe panel, 2 Opp parties say ‘cover-up' act
Nepal Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, who has rejected the demand for his resignation in what is known as 'visit visa ' scam, on Tuesday announced formation of a seven-member probe committee, but the two main opposition parties outrightly rejected it saying it is nothing but a 'cover-up act'.
Lekhak said in the House of Representatives that the government has accepted his proposal and constituted a 7-member team headed by former Chief secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, which will conduct a probe into the alleged rampant extortion of Nepalis traveling on visit visa by the immigration authorities at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Members of two Opposition parties, the Rastriya Swatantra Party and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, walked out of the House in protest alleging that the choice of members in the panel–all serving bureaucrats — was clearly intended to shield Lekhak and others. The opposition parties, including the main Opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), had earlier demanded a probe and resignation of the Home Minister to ensure a fair investigation.
However, the CPN (Maoist Centre) changed its stance and agreed to have a probe without the resignation of the minister.
CPN (Maoist Centre) chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda justified the party's stand. 'Truth in the visit visa scam should come out,' he said, adding that the other opposition parties would realise later that the stand taken by the patry was the most appropriate one.
Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, chief of Immigration, is under suspension and is being investigated for the scam but Lekhak, backed by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba, has all along said the minister cannot be held accountable for bureaucrats' errors.
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