Will resign if party asks me to: Nepal

KATHMANDU: CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that he is ready to step down from the party if it decides to relieve him due to the corruption case filed against him.

Addressing the first central committee meeting of the party’s student wing, ANNFSU, in Kathmandu on Friday, Nepal said that he would accept the decision to quit if the party believes the charges against him warrant such action.

“I fear no one because I have never taken a single rupee in bribes,” he said. “The constitution prohibits the anti-graft body from investigating policy decisions made by the government. The case file against me, therefore, is an act of revenge.”

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal at the Special Court, accusing him of facilitating the sale of land acquired for industrial purposes by Patanjali Yog Peeth and Ayurveda Company. In 2010, the cabinet led by Nepal had decided to exempt the company from land-ceiling restrictions, allowing it to purchase the land.

Nepal also warned that those trying to settle scores with him may end up falling into the same trap that they have laid.