KATHMANDU: The opposition party, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has accused the Home Ministry of neglecting repeated warnings from the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) regarding illegal fees collected by the Immigration Department from citizens traveling abroad on visit visas.
RSP’s acting spokesperson, Manish Jha, claimed that despite nine official correspondences from CIAA between November 2024 and April 2025, the Home Ministry did not take any action.
Jha alleged that the ministry only reacted after learning that the CIAA planned to conduct a raid at the Immigration Office.
“They seem indifferent to the problem. Despite CIAA’s nine letters, the Home Ministry ignored the issue until the threat of a raid,” Jha wrote on X (formerly Twitter), referring to the visit visa case.
RSP also accused the ruling coalition partners—Nepali Congress and CPN-UML—of downplaying the matter and trying to protect Home Minister Ramesh Lal Thakuri.
“Yes, one employee has been caught, but political forces involved are trying to shield him. Without political protection, such organized crime wouldn’t have lasted 18 years. They are hiding something,” Jha said.
However, Jha clarified that RSP does not intend to disrupt parliamentary proceedings like the Nepali Congress and the UML.
“We are not competing with CPN-UML and Nepali Congress to disrupt the parliament. Our concern is this issue, and resolving it remains our primary demand,” Jha said.
He recalled how the Nepali Congress obstructed 22 meetings for two months to block a cooperative investigation and how the party protested extensively in the past.
Jha also mentioned that RSP briefly disrupted parliamentary proceedings on May 27 and 28 but participated smoothly during the budget presentation on May 29. However, disruptions continued on several other dates later in the month.
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