Kathmandu: The Nepali Congress (NC) has denied any involvement of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak in the visit visa scandal.
A meeting of both former and current office bearers of the party, held at the private residence of Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba in Budhanilkantha today, concluded that Minister Lekhak, who represents the party in the NC-UML coalition government, had no role in the scandal.
During the meeting, the Minister presented a detailed statement regarding his alleged involvement in the scam, according to NC Spokesperson Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat. After reviewing his clarification, the party leadership decided there was no evidence linking him to the scandal.
The meeting also called for an impartial investigation into the matter, urging that those found responsible be brought to justice.
It is worth noting that on May 21, Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, the Chief of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Immigration Office, was interrogated by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for allegedly facilitating illegal foreign travel of Nepali nationals on visit visas.
It was later discovered that he had been in regular contact with officials in the Ministry, raising suspicions about the Minister’s involvement in the scandal.