KATHMANDU: Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has survived calls for his resignation following a high-profile corruption scandal involving the issuance of visit visas at Tribhuvan International Airport. A three-party agreement signed on Friday ensures that Lekhak will neither be required to resign nor face a parliamentary investigation.
The controversy erupted after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) detained Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, a joint secretary at the Home Ministry, on May 21. Bhattarai, a close confidant of Lekhak and former chief of the immigration office, was allegedly involved in collecting millions of rupees daily by facilitating outbound visit visas under a corrupt network.
Investigations revealed that up to Rs 10 million a day was being extorted from individuals traveling to destinations like Dubai, with reports suggesting that the money reached even the minister’s secretariat.
Initially, several opposition parties, including the CPN (Maoist Centre), Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), CPN (Unified Socialist), and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), obstructed parliament, demanding Lekhak’s resignation. The Maoist Centre later softened its stance, shifting its demand from resignation to a formal investigation.
Despite mounting pressure, senior leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress and KP Sharma Oli of the CPN-UML reportedly intervened to shield Lekhak. The Maoist Centre eventually aligned with their agenda.
On Friday, chief whips of the Nepali Congress Shyam Kumar Ghimire, CPN-UML Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, and Maoist Centre Hit Raj Pandey signed a two-point agreement that excludes both Lekhak’s resignation and the formation of a parliamentary probe committee.
The first point states that the CIAA is already investigating the visa scandal, and the government will assist as required. The second calls for policy, legal, and structural reforms to address long-standing issues related to immigration and visit visas.
The RSP, which had previously submitted a five-point proposal demanding Lekhak’s resignation, was not part of the agreement. The Maoist Centre had taken responsibility for persuading the RSP but failed to bring them on board before signing the deal.
In effect, this agreement ends a two-week parliamentary deadlock and protects Home Minister Lekhak from immediate political consequences, signaling a retreat by the Maoist Centre and a victory for the Congress-UML alliance in controlling the narrative.
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