KATHMANDU, July 15: Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Rajkumar Gupta has resigned from his post. He announced his resignation via Facebook earlier today.
In his statement, Gupta lamented, saying, “Sometimes even a poison you have never taken can affect you—I have now fallen victim to such false allegations. To help uncover the truth through proper investigation, I have resigned from the position of Minister of Federal Affairs and General Administration and submitted my resignation to the honorable Prime Minister.”
PM summons Minister Gupta, implicated in bribery scandal to Bal...
He further claimed to have become a victim of the misuse of advanced technology and urged that no one else should have to face such injustice.
Gupta was implicated in a Rs 7.8 million bribery audio scandal. On Monday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli summoned him to his Baluwatar residence and directed him to resign from his ministerial position.
Following his release of audio, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties had demanded for his resignation. Minister Gupta was embroiled in the bribery case after an audio recording surfaced revealing a ‘deal’ involving the transfer of employees and land revenue officers under the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLCPA).
The minister is accused of accepting Rs 5.3 million to halt the transfer of Ramchandra Adhikari, the then chief of the Land Revenue Office in Kaski, and an additional Rs 2.5 million for the appointment of a district chairperson in the Land Commission—totaling approximately Rs 7.8 million.
A complaint was filed with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), accompanied by photos of two bags containing the bribe money, along with serial numbers and bundles of currency notes. Following the registration of the complaint, the audio recording of the bribery deal involving Minister Gupta was made public.
