Minister Musalman, who is also the chairman of the NTNC, removed Gurung from his post accusing him of embezzling funds. [break]
Musalman also accused Gurung of appointing over 100 employees without open competition and doling out financial assistance to various political and ethnic-based organizations.
Minister Musalman has decided to appoint the new member-secretary at the NTNC through. "I will publish a public notice in this regard in a couple of days," Musalman told Republica.
This is the second time the minister sacked Gurung. Previously, on November 14, Musalman had sacked Gurung from his post on the same charges. However, the Supreme Court (SC) had stayed Gurung´s sacking saying proper procedures were not followed. Gurung´s case is still sub judice.
After being sacked for the second time, Gurung accused Minister Musalman of defying the SC order. "The minister´s action is against the court´s order as my case is still sub judice," Gurung told Republica. He said he will again move the SC for justice. "I hope the court will do me justice this time again," Gurung said.
Gurung has also accused Minister Musalman of sacking him for not paying bribes. "Money is the main factor in this whole issue," he said. "The minister had asked me to pay bribe if I wanted to continue in the post. I refused. This is why he is taking revenge."
Minister Musalman has dismissed Gurung´s charges. "He met me only a couple of times when he came to my office to submit his clarifications and get his leave applications approved. His heart knows if I asked him for bribe in these few meetings," Musalman said.
"I have solid proofs of the financial irregularities committed by Gurung," Minister Musalman told Republica. Musalman on Monday also sent documents purportedly about Gurung´s financial irregularities to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
Earlier, Minister Musalman had asked Gurung to clarify why he doled out financial assistance to All Nepal National Free Students´ Union (ANNFSU) and Youth Association of Nepal (YAN), both affiliated to the CPN-UML and Tamu Chhoj Dhi, a Gurung organization.
Musalman also asked Gurung to clarify why he awarded various publishing contracts to his own printing press and about the mismanagement at the NTNC. Musalman sacked Gurung terming his clarifications "unsatisfactory."
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