NC obstructs House calling Gachhadar indictment ‘biased’ (With video)

KATHMANDU, Feb 6: The main opposition party Nepali Congress has obstructed the meeting of the House of Representatives on Thursday protesting the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)’s move to indict its Deputy Parliamentary Party leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachhadar in the notorious Lalita Niwas land grab scam.

The NC, after discussing the charge sheet filed against Gachhadar in an urgent meeting today morning, has slammed the CIAA move as “an act of political vengeance” and “biased”.

The CIAA on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against 175 individuals including Gachhadar, former ministers Chandra Dev Joshi, Chhabiraj Pant and Dambar Shrestha accusing them of illegally registering the state land at Lalita Niwas in Baluwatar in the name of various 65 individuals.

However, the CIAA did not file any cases against the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) General Secretary Bishnu Paudel and his son Navin, who owns eight annas of land at Lalita Niwas, and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Kumar Regmi who owns two annas.

NC Chief Whip Pushpa Bhusal vented ire accusing the CIAA of becoming the shadow of the government.

“The CIAA indicted Gachhadar because he is an opposition leader,” she said.

Bhusal also questioned the credibility of the constitutional body and its biased behavior.

“The CIAA, in influence of the government, has indicted our leader because we are in the opposition. Why were some of them spared just because they promised to return the land? We cannot support such unfair decision and such practice of the government. Thus we are not in position to allow the Speaker to proceed the House business,” she said.

Following Regmi’s statement, the NC stood from the seats forcing the Speaker to stop the meeting. 

The NC has also directed its sister organizations to take to streets protesting the CIAA’s decision.