INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
#13;I will vacate my position if evidences are furnished against me, says Finance Minister Mahat#13;
KATHMANDU, AUGUST
13Nepali Congress parliamentary party meeting has decided to propose and pass crucial decisions tomorrow at the end of the meeting."We will
pass vital proposals through parliamentary party meetings after hearing from our friends," said NC Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak
He said, "So far, 50 members have kept their agenda
The meeting will be held tomorrow at 11:00am
We will pass a few important proposals tomorrow after including everyone's views
Our meeting will also conclude tomorrow."He further said no discussion had been held on dissolving the government or forming a new
government in the meeting.
After the meeting of the parliamentary party which has continued from Friday, he said everyone
was just sharing their perspectives."No one has brought the topic of overthrowing this government and forming another one," he
clarified.Meanwhile, Nepali Congress MP Sunil Sharma said he had only raised policy-related questions with the home minister and the finance
minister in the gold smuggling case
At the meeting of the Congress parliamentary party held today, lawmaker Sharma shed light on the speech he had delivered in the Parliament
on July 26, demanding the resignation of the finance minister and the home minister.However, Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, who
spoke before MP Sharma in the meeting of the parliamentary party, challenged him to produce evidence of him being in cahoots with the 100-kg
gold racket.But MP Sharma said he had only raised policy-related questions
"How do you expect naive Nepalis to believe that quintals of gold will pass from the customs without the knowledge of the Ministry of Home
Affairs which heads the police administration
Similarly, how can we trust that the finance minister didn't have even a single clue?" he asked."I have no personal dispute with Minister
Mahat," MP Sharma said, adding, "This is enough to take as evidence regarding the collusion of the ministers in the scam
We don't need to be convinced by anything else."MP Sharma also argued that if there were any errors in his speech, he was ready to rectify
He said, "Neither did I mean to imply that our Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat smuggled gold, nor did I argue that the home minister
The question is whether they will take responsibility for it morally or not." He further said, "My questions await answers from the
ministers of finance and home affairs
The prime minister should also be accountable regarding my queries."He also sought the formation of a high-level commission to probe the
gold smuggling racket.On the other hand, Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat said, "I will immediately vacate the post if proofs against
me are furnished."At the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting today, he said, "Does this mean that I have committed grave omission by
holding this position? If you produce proof, I will resign from the position straight away." He argued that he had no vested interest in any
matter."If I had been greedy, I could have done several other things
There are examples of how many ministers have done wrong in the past, from fixing tax rates to fulfilling their self-interest
But I am not selfish regarding any matter
And particularly, the gold scam is beyond my imagination," he said.Finance Minister Mahat, who once served as NC spokesperson, directed his
salvo at lawmaker Sunil Sharma who had accused him publicly
"I was called a useless person
I don't want to say who said it and why it was said
The largest party in the HoR has lost discipline and dignity,'' Mahat stated.A version of this article appears in the print on August 14,
2023, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
