PM must listen to opposition’s concerns: Sharma

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma has said that the Prime Minister must take the opposition’s concerns over the visit visa controversy seriously.

Speaking to journalists at the Parliament Building in New Baneshwor on Tuesday, Sharma said it is the opposition’s responsibility to highlight the government’s shortcomings, and the Prime Minister should respond with serious engagement.

He called for a thorough investigation into the visit visa scandal, stressing that everyone involved must be held accountable. Sharma noted that while it would be natural for home ministers to resign if the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) were to investigate them, the current probe is focused solely on government employees. “It is not appropriate to demand the Home Minister’s resignation when no formal complaint has been filed against them,” he said.

NC Chief Whip Shyam Ghimire echoed the sentiment, stating that the opposition’s call for the Home Minister’s resignation, without any formal complaint, has placed them in a difficult position.

Sharma clarified that Tuesday’s parliamentary discussions centered on the formation of an investigation committee. “If a committee is formed, its report would have to be submitted to the CIAA, which is already conducting an investigation,” he said. “The opposition should wait for the CIAA’s findings before taking further action.”