Interior Minister promises to talk about the “Visa” scandal soon “Khabarhub

Interior Minister Ramesh Lekhak. (FileToto)

Kathmandu: Interior Minister Ramesh Lekhak has explained that the Ministry of the Interior will soon be a formal declaration on the growing controversy about the alleged “visiting visa” at Tribhuvan International Airport.

Lekhak spoke at a party event organized by the Nepali Congress Dhanusha Chapter, and explained that he was deliberately silent for a few days to thoroughly examined the matter.

“A lot is said on Twitter. I stayed calm for a few days because I tried to understand where it came from,” he said. “I have now got to know a lot. The ministry will later make an explanation today.”

Lekhak also said that he would personally talk about the problem “in a few days” to assure the public that there is no need to panic.

“I will speak in two to four days,” he said. “There is no reason to worry or be alarmed.”

Since his name is still connected to the scandal, Lekhak claimed that he had never acted in such a way that he would shame his party.

“I have never done anything in my political life that my party would be ashamed,” he said. “If I have ever been involved in such actions, I will leave politics as a whole.”

The scandal appeared after the Commission had arrested an office as part of the Interior Ministry to investigate the abuse of authority (Ciaa) Titha Raj Bhattarai, a joint secretary and head of the immigration office at the airport.

Lekhak had appointed Bhatarai on October 10th last year and replaced the boss Suresh Panthi at the time. According to reports, the visa -related corruption rose sharply after taking Bhattarai.

In the middle of the growing interest of CIAA on the case, the Ministry of the Interior allegedly tried to transfer Bhatarai from the immigration office to the ministry on Tuesday evening in order to protect it. Before the transfer could be completed, Bhattarai was taken into custody.

Media reports claim that immigration staff in consultation with individuals from the Secretariat of the Interior Minister 20,000 rupees of 40,000 rupees from those who travel in the golf areas because of visiting visa. For those who went to Europe, the bribes were reportedly between 200,000 and 300,000 rupees. It is also said that the daily collections reached up to 5 million rupees, some of which reached their way to the inner circle of the Interior Minister.

The scandal has led to a writing to the Supreme Court, in which Lekhak's discharge was requested. Submitted by Advocate Madhu Chaulagain, the writing still has to be officially registered. The Supreme Court is expected to decide on registration by Sunday.

A separate complaint was also submitted to the office of Prime Minister and the Minister. The complaint submitted by Yubraj Safal accuses the civil servants to issue visiting visa based on fake documents and collect large sums for it. The complaint especially mentions the Interior Minister, the immigration officers and members of the secretariat of Lekhak.