KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has claimed that the Nepali Congress has targeted him because he refused their offer to become Prime Minister for one and a half years.

Addressing the House of Representatives on Sunday, Lamichhane expressed his grievance that his refusal of the Congress’s proposal led to the prevalent level of opposition against him.

“If my integrity is questioned while I am Home Minister, is it acceptable for me to be Prime Minister? Did the offer to make me Prime Minister for one and a half years expire or not?” he asked. “Let Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba put his hand on his heart and tell the truth.”

He revealed that those who offered him the Prime Minister’s position at midnight began besieging the parliament the next day when he refused.

“I received the offer to become Prime Minister at night. I declined,” he said. “The next day, the parliament was obstructed, and then a demand for an investigation committee was made. This is something we cannot tolerate.”