KATHMANDU, JULY 31
CPN-Maoist Centre leader Janardan Sharma was today reinstated as finance minister two days after a parliamentary panel probe found no evidence to prove he was involved in making illegal changes to the budget. He took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhandari today itself.
Sharma had quit as finance minister earlier this month after being accused of allowing unauthorised persons into the finance ministry on the eve of budget presentation on May 28. Details of the reported tax rate changes have not been made public but local media reports said the tweaks allegedly permitted by Sharma were aimed at favouring certain business houses.
Sharma has denied the charge. The special parliamentary probe committee, which investigated the matter, gave him clean chit on Friday.
The House panel had concluded that evidence gathered during the investigation, including the CCTV footage of May 28 retrieved by the Central Police Forensic Laboratories, did not prove allegations against Sharma.
The main opposition CPN-UML, however, has stuck with the allegations. They alleged that the investigation was inadequate as details of phone calls by people who were allegedly allowed by Sharma to make last minute tweaks in the tax rates were not examined.
"The investigation seems to be aimed at clearing him (Sharma) of any wrongdoing," said Khagaraj Adhikari, an opposition lawmaker and member of the probe panel. "Sharma's reappointment is not justified," he added.
Lakshman Lal Karna, who headed the multi-party probe panel, said the report was adopted by a majority of its members democratically.
"They (the opposition) are free to keep their different views in a democracy," Karna told Reuters.
Earlier in the morning, CPN-MC Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal met Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and recommended Sharma's name for the finance portfolio. A presidential statement later said Sharma was reinstated as finance minister on the recommendation of Deuba, who had run the finance ministry since July 6.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 1, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
