KATHMANDU, AUGUST 13

Nepali 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 it in the future. 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 smuggled it. 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.