KATHMANDU, Feb 27: A day after a white paper released by the Nepal Trust stated that some of the controversial decisions relating to the leasing out of the trust’s property were taken when Sher Bahadur Deuba was the prime minister, Deuba has strongly objected to the ‘allegation’.
Deuba, who is the president of the main opposition Nepali Congress, has termed the linking of his name to the Nepal Trust property lease decisions as an attempt to divert public attention from the serious financial irregularities involving the security printing press procurement and the leasing of Gokarna Forest Resort for a paltry amount.
NCP leader picks flaw in Nepal Trust white paper
Prime Minister Deuba rejected the ‘allegation’ made in the white paper and claimed that his cabinet was not involved in any decision to lease the land or property of Nepal Trust. “I have serious objection to the allegation because I was not involved in any such decision-making,” he said in a statement.
Deuba has said that the decisions taken by the Nepal Trust as an autonomous body are taken by bureaucrats and the prime minister is not informed about such decisions. “Therefore, it is wrong from both political and legal perspectives to link my name to the decisions taken by the trust’s board or bureaucrats,” he has said.
While asking people not to be misled by ‘malicious propaganda of the government’, Deuba has appealed to the people to continue their protests to pressure the government to curb corruption.
