KATHMANDU, July 14: The Bibeksheel Sajha Party (BSP) has demanded the immediate dismissal of Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Rajkumar Gupta and Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLCPA) Balaram Adhikari.
Issuing a press statement on Monday, the party expressed serious concern that the two ministers remain in office despite widespread media reports and leaked audio implicating them in a corruption scandal.
According to party Spokesperson Ashutosh Pradhan, BSP has strongly urged Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to immediately dismiss and take action against both ministers involved in what it describes as a heinous crime.
PM should immediately sack his IT consultant: NC leader Koirala
The statement reads, “While Ministers Gupta and Adhikari continue to enjoy the perks of office funded by public taxes, the government’s failure to remove them despite clear public evidence of corruption raises serious questions about the integrity of PM Oli's leadership. The BSP is carefully scrutinizing this inaction.”
The statement further notes that in the context of dozens of unresolved corruption cases, the direct involvement of serving ministers in yet another scandal reflects the country’s severely weakened state of governance.
“The BSP also draws the special attention of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), urging a thorough investigation and necessary actions in this serious corruption case,” the statement adds.
Minister Gupta became embroiled in the bribery case after an audio recording surfaced revealing a ‘deal’ involving the transfer of employees and land revenue officers under the 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 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.
Following the audio scandal leak, PM Oli on Monday morning summoned minister Gupta and directed his resignation.
