Kathmandu, 10 Aug : Two former Prime Ministers have been summoned by Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau (CBI), in connection with the Lalita Bhavan land scandal. Both are close associates of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachand and are members of the alliance government in Nepal. CBI Chief Kiran Vajracharya confirmed that besides the two former prime ministers, some highly placed government officials have also been summoned for enquiry in this connection.
The Supreme Court opined that the entire government machinery was involved in the scandal. The decision to fraudulently allot land to private parties was cleared by the cabinet and approved by the prime minister. The ministers, including the prime minister, secretaries, and other government officials are involved in the scandal.
Former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is in Indonesia and claimed innocence through Facebook Live. In his message, he said that he made an effort to correct the anomalies in the Lalita Bhavan case. He was not involved in the corruption.
Another former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattrai on Twitter welcomed the decision of the court and assured all kinds of help in the investigation.
CIB has issued arrest warrants against a former Deputy Prime Minister and three ministers and is investigating the alleged corruption.
