KATHMANDU, JUNE 28
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said the government's investigation into fake Bhutanese refugee scam proved that nobody was above the law.
Responding to lawmakers' queries on the budgetary allocation, the PM said from the rostrum of the House of Representatives that there was an impression in society that VIPs were above the law, but the government proved that wrong in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam investigation. He said investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam proved not only the supremacy of law but also the supremacy of democracy.
The pessimistic view that some high-ranking people and one class of people are above the law has been proven wrong, the PM said. The PM said that successful investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee case had 'repaired and purified democracy.'
Some high-profile people - NC leader Bal Krishna Khand, UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and government secretary Tek Narayan Pandey have been indicted in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam and they are now in judicial custody.
" I want to assure the Parliament and all the people of the country from this rostrum that this purification drive won't stop. The authorities have started arresting those accused in the Lalita Niwas case who were attempting to 'swallow' the prime minister's residence," the PM said. He said he needed the support of the Parliament and the people to sweep the 'dirt that had accumulated over the years.' The PM said he would keep his word and ensure that there wouldn't be shortage of fertilisers from now on. The PM said the government had made it possible for students to obtain their no objection certificates without requiring them to stand in long queues at Sanothimi, in the process of which service-seeking students had to travel long way and stand in the queue from the night itself.
He said the government had also simplified the procedure for passport application and now people could apply for passport from their mobile phones.
The PM said his government succeeded in saving the country from the fate of Sri Lanka. There has been an increase of 20.9 per cent in foreign currency reserve, which would be enough to pay for imports for up to nine months, he said and added that the bank interest rate had also been lowered.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 29, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
