KATHMANDU, Feb 6: The main opposition Nepali Congress on Thursday accused the Commission for Investigation and Abuse of Authority (CIAA) of coming under the undue influence of both the ruling Nepal Communist Party and entire state machinery.

"The CIAA's move to implicate NC leader Bijaya Kumar Gachchadar in the controversial Lalita Niwas land scam is politically motivated and biased," NC Spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma said at a press meet today.

He claimed that the anti-graft body made the decision due to the influence of the ruling NCP and entire state machinery through their controls.

Sharma came down heavily against the CIAA during the press meet and raised a number of questions over its probe into the much-talked-about Lalita Niwas land scam.

"The CIAA filed the charge sheet against a particular minister (Bijaya Gachchadar) over the cabinet decision relating to Lalita Niwas land scam. But, it did not file corruption cases against former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai though cabinet-level decisions were taken during their tenures to legalize the transfer of government land to individuals. Only Gachchadar has been charged with corruption in this case, and those prime ministers with whom he worked in the capacity of the minister have got a clean chit. Isn't it a political vendetta?" he questioned.

Sharma also raised the question on the CIAA's move to give clean chit to ruling NCP leader Bishnu Poudel. "It is the fact that Poudel and his son were also involved in the multi-billion rupee land scam. But, they are not implicated by the CIAA," the spokesperson said.  

A meeting of the NC's office-bearers today morning decided to strongly oppose the CIAA's move to implicate NC leader and deputy party parliamentary leader Gachchadar in the infamous Lalita Niwas land scam.

On Wednesday, the CIAA had filed a charge-sheet against 175 individuals, including some erstwhile bigwigs, at the Special Court, accusing them of involvement in illegally registering Lalita Niwas land in the names of various individuals.

NC leader and former deputy prime minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, former ministers Chandra Dev Joshi, Chhabiraj Pant and Dambar Shrestha, former government secretary Dinesh Hari Adhikari and former secretary and CIAA ex-chief Dip Basnyat, are among those being charge-sheeted.

 
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