KATHMANDU, Aug 26: Ishwar Pokhrel, one of the senior leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), who also holds a portfolio of the Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister never stops courting controversies. Pokhrel’s list of controversies predate the Oli-led government.
Minister Pokhrel was infamous for allegedly hiding cash inside a water tank after receiving a tip-off that his house was being raided by CIAA, the anti-graft body. This was during King Gyanendra Shah's rule, and he was the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies in Sher Bahadur Deuba’s government.
Minister Pokhrel has been a subject of controversy since he assumed the ministerial position this time. His attempt to exert undue pressure in the selection of consultants for the Kathmandu-Tarai fast track was outright rejected by the army. Minister Pokhrel's involvement in the controversial procurement deal of medical supplies through the infamous Omni Group, in his capacity as the coordinator of COVID-19 Crisis Management Center, also generated widespread public outcry.
Army insiders say Minister Pokhrel also made several attempts to harm the institution’s health through controversial decisions for ‘monetary profit’-- something Purna Chandra Thapa, Army Chief, thwarted successfully. Senior army officials say that Pokharel's political career could be irreversibly damaged if all his wrongdoings are exposed.
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A recent decision by the CCMC to ask the NAC aircraft that had already reached Dubai last week to repatriate Nepali migrant workers to return empty drew huge public outrage, even as the stranded Nepalis were repatriated home on Sunday evening. Minister Pokhrel is once again going viral on social media for another controversial decision.
Known for practicing nepotism and favoritism, Minister Pokhrel has landed into a serious controversy for his alleged role in securing the coveted post of board member of the state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank for Uepndra Koirala, his in-law. Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada on Monday decided to appoint Koirala as a member of the RBB's Board of Directors in an apparent bid to secure the post of the bank's chairman for him in the future.
A permanent resident of Biratnagar Metropolitan Metropolitan City-14, Koirala is father in-law of Pokhrel's son. Social media has been blasting the minister for naked nepotism in key government appointments.
Koirala has been rewarded with at least six key political appointments in the past 25 years by different UML governments. People have criticized the decision, questioning repeated political appointments to the same individual, disregarding other competent people within the party. Koirala was elevated to key posts over the years allegedly with support from Pokhrel in the erstwhile CPN-UML governments.
Since the CPN-UML came to power in the early 1990s, Koirala served as General Manager of Nepal Food Corporation, General Manager of Nepal Oil Corporation, Campus Chief of Mahendra Morang Multiple Campus, Vice Chairman of Higher Secondary Education Board and Vice-Chancellor of Mid-Western University-- all through political influence.
Although Koirala has claimed that he was appointed on the basis of his knowledge and expertise; social media users are asking a simple question: How can the same person have such a wide range of knowledge and expertise? An individual who has served in the education sector, for instance, has rarely been appointed as Chairman of NOC or the General Manager of NFC. Koirala's recent appointment as a member of RBB's Board of Directors further intensified this controversy, as mainstream media and social media users have pointed to Pokhrel for nepotism and favoritism.
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