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KATHMANDU, June 24: The second-largest opposition party in Parliament, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the high-level committee formed by the government to investigate the visit visa scandal.
After Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak briefed the House of Representatives (HoR) about the formation of the committee on Tuesday, RSP Vice-chairperson Dr. Swarnim Wagle told a group of reporters that the party does not accept the committee.
“Today, the Home Minister told tall tales of what he will do. That’s just his routine job. It is disappointing that such a serious criminal issue tied to bad governance is being handled in a purely bureaucratic, ritualistic manner,” Wagle said. “The RSP may be new, but it’s not naïve.”
He claimed the government's proposal is merely an administrative fix. “This is a bureaucratic solution. The person who is under suspicion is the one who presented the proposal to the cabinet. He handpicked the chair of the investigation committee—pulled him straight from his pocket. The members are joint secretaries under his command,” Wagle stated.
He also raised questions about the chair of the committee, former Chief Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi. “The chair is a former bureaucrat, known as a favorite of every government for the last ten years. He served seven years as Foreign Secretary, then as Chief Secretary,” he said. “He mysteriously left the post to become National Security Advisor. He is linked—directly or indirectly—to a nexus involving Sunil Paudel, Bikal Paudel, and former Communication Secretary Baikuntha Aryal, all of whom are connected to major telecom-related scandals. According to credible sources, these individuals are already on the radar of relevant authorities.”
RSP submits five-point proposal to probe visit visa case
Wagle argued that the committee, chaired by a retired bureaucrat, is neither judicial, nor parliamentary, nor truly high-level. “How can someone living on a pension head a high-level committee?” he questioned.
Wagle reiterated RSP’s long-standing demand for either a judicial probe committee led by a sitting or former judge under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1969, or a parliamentary inquiry committee.
“The government appears to be adopting a strategy of forming a patchwork committee to hush things up,” he said. “This committee, formed with bad intentions—to sprinkle holy water, to shield, and to cleanse—cannot be accepted by the RSP.”
He added that RSP’s five-point demand still stands.
The RSP has been protesting in Parliament, demanding the resignation of Home Minister Lekhak and the formation of a proper probe committee, alleging that Lekhak may have links to the visit visa scandal.
Alongside, another opposition party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), has also been demanding the formation of a probe committee and the home minister’s resignation.
Earlier on Tuesday, the RPP also expressed dissent over the probe committee formed by the government. “We disagree with the formation of the committee. It cannot deliver justice. This issue goes beyond politics and power interests, and whoever is found guilty must be punished,” said RPP Chief Whip Gyanendra Shahi.
Shahi also demanded an investigation into the 14 home ministers appointed over the past 18 years in connection with the visit visa scandal.
The Cabinet meeting, which extended late into Monday night, had decided to form a high-level committee to investigate the recent visit visa scandal.
The committee, headed by former Chief Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, includes secretaries from the concerned ministries.
