KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba said he was not involved in the government's decision to appoint DIG Jaya Bahadur Chand as the Inspector General of Nepal Police.

After media reported that he piled undue pressure on the government to pick Chand as the Chief of Nepal Police while the Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs were for another candidate based on the seniority, Deuba issued a press statement via his personal secretary Keshav Raj Joshi this afternoon and denied the charge.

Chand, whose appointment has been stayed by the Supreme Court within few hours, was at the third rank among four DIGs eligible to lead the national police organisation. Nawa Raj Silwal and Prakash Aryal were ahead of him in terms of seniority, according to the police sources.

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"The appointment of the Inspector General is solely the Cabinet's jurisdiction," Deuba said in the statement, "In this issue, I do not and cannot have any involvement in any form as the Nepali Congress President."

The former Prime Minister claimed that media did not consult him about the truth and just made up the stories.

"Media are backbones of democracy," he suggested, "I request media to publish truthful and factual news reports after consulting the concerned sides."