Either make evidence of corruption public or apologize, NCP spokesperson Shrestha tells former PM Bhattarai   

KATHMANDU, Oct 14: Taking strong exception to the allegation made by former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai about the involvement of Prime Minister K P Oli and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in corruption on Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project,  ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has challenged him to make public the evidence, if he has any, and present them to the authorized agency of the government for investigation.

In a press statement on Wednesday, the party’s Spokesperson termed the accusation made by former Prime Minister Bhattarai about billions of rupees of corruption by NCP co-chair Dahal and Prime Minister Oli ‘baseless, false, fabricated and ill-intentioned’. He also said that the NCP condemns such statements coming from the former prime minister of the country. 

The formal statement from the main ruling NCP comes in the wake of the recent remark made by Bhattarai, who is also a senior leader of Janata Samajbadi Party, in a public program in Gorkha alleging that Oli, Dahal and Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba distributed Rs 9 billion in commissions they received for the proposed Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project. Bhattarai, however, did not clarify who gave such a large amount of money to these leaders as commission.

“We challenge him to make public of the so-called evidence, if he has any and present it to the responsible state agency. However, we want to make it clear that such an artificial claim of evidence is just to sow mistrust,” read the statement issued by Shrestha. “So, the person, who has already held the prestigious post of the country, should publicly apologize for his objectionable and irresponsible remarks.” 

The main opposition party NC has already refuted the allegation and challenged Bhattarai to present the evidence, while urging him to refrain from making such irresponsible statements. In his remark, former Prime Minister Bhattarai had even claimed that he could present evidence of such corruption from the top leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties.

 
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