A subcommittee formed by parliament´s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had accused Gautam and then chairman and member secretary of Central Haj Committee of embezzling Rs 7.7 million while making travel arrangements for Haj pilgrims last year.
The subcommittee concluded that the money should be recovered from former Gautam, erstwhile chairman and other members of the Haj Committee. “The erstwhile Home Minister, Chairman and other members of the committee were responsible for the irregularities. Hence, the loss should be recovered from them,” the subcommittee report said.
UML Vice Chairman Gautam claimed that the report was produced with an intention to drag him into controversy. He said that additional expenses had to be made due to the irresponsible act of the national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC).
“The NAC did not respond to our repeated requests to make flight arrangements for 475 Haj pilgrims. We sought all possible alternatives. Ultimately, we had no option but to charter a PIA plane to ferry the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia,” Gautam clarified lawmakers at the PAC meeting on Wednesday.
Terming the subcommittee report as unjustified, Gautam urged the PAC to refrain from drawing “biased conclusions” while taking the final decision.
Member demands review of PAC decisions
A member of PAC, Rabindra Adhikari, has demanded that the past decisions made by the committee be reviewed. He raised the issue during the committee´s meeting on Wednesday.
UML lawmaker Adhikari also termed the report biased and claimed that such reports will erode the committee´s credibility. “This report is undoubtedly biased. Therefore, it is high time we reviewed our work and past decisions. We must do it to maintain out credibility,” he said.
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