NC lawmaker seeks resignation of home, finance ministers

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress lawmaker Sunil Sharma has sought the resignation of finance and home ministers.

Speaking in the meeting of the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives on Friday, Sharma said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Minister for Finance Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat should step down to facilitate an investigation into the gold haul at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

A team of the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) raided a taxi carrying eight boxes of brake shoes released from the Tribhuvan International Airport Customs Office on Wednesday. Initial investigation showed gold was smuggled inside those boxes. Although the details of the measurement have not been made public yet, officials say about a quintal of gold was smuggled into the country in those boxes.

“Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had to mobilize a team to arrest smugglers even though teams of the Department of Customs and Nepal Police are deputed at the airport,” Sharma said. “The two ministers should step down on moral grounds.”