Heated debate erupts among lawmakers over visa scam in parliamentary committee

KATHMANDU: A meeting of the Industry, Commerce, Labour, and Consumer Interest Committee under the House of Representatives turned tense on Friday following a heated exchange among lawmakers over the ongoing visit visa scandal.

The dispute erupted after Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Ganesh Parajuli criticized the alleged collusion of state bodies in the trafficking of Nepali citizens under the guise of visit visas.

Parajuli called for a parliamentary investigation committee and expressed disappointment over lawmakers who, he claimed, remained silent due to party pressure.

He further asserted that the issue was no longer confined to his party and demanded that both the Home Minister and the Labour Minister appear before the committee to answer questions. This drew strong objections from lawmakers of the ruling coalition.

Nepali Congress MP Raju Thapa argued that since the case is already under investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the parliamentary committee. Thapa accused Parajuli of straying from the agenda and asked the committee chair to issue a ruling.

Committee Chair Abdul Khan urged lawmakers to stay within the topic, but tensions escalated as Thapa objected to Parajuli referring to other MPs as “helpless,” demanding that the remark be removed from the official record.

CPN (Unified Socialist) MP Krishna Kumar Shrestha also voiced anger, stating that opposition to human trafficking is not the sole domain of the RSP, saying, “Is RSP the sole contractor of this issue?”

As the argument intensified, Chairperson Khan proposed forming a probe committee to investigate the controversy itself, prompting further objections from MP Parajuli.

He insisted that the committee should instead focus on investigating the visit visa scandal and reiterated his demand for the presence of the Home and Labour Ministers.

The meeting concluded with no resolution, as political tensions over the high-profile human trafficking issue continued to simmer within the parliamentary framework.