Skip to main content

'Lifestyles of PM, DPM at odds with property statements'

Might be matter for investigations: Experts

 

Members of the general public and experts concerned have taken the property statements submitted by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other ministers as unconvincing and at odds with the lifestyles of those leaders. Former bureaucrats said such disparity between the property details  of the leaders and their lifestyle can be a matter for investigations. 

Prime Minister Dahal and all the ministers made public their property details on Wednesday. Much to everyone's surprise, The prime minister stated that all he has by way of property is  one katha (3,645 square feet)of land in his wife Sita's name in Chitwan and 3 tola (34.992 grams) of gold,  while Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara has also stated that he owns very little property. 

Deputy Prime Minister Mahara has stated that he owns a two-storey Nepali style house, a cow shed and seven ropani (one ropani is 5,476 square feet) of land in Rolpa district, and has Rs 80,000 at Everest Bank. A day after the property details were made public, individuals from various sectors and the public in general  criticized the leaders for not making public the real extent of their property holdings. 

Former home secretary Shreekanta Regmi said that the lavish lifestyles of the leaders make a mockery of the property statements that they have issued. "Their property details are doubtful as these do not comport in any way with their lavish lifestyles. If they are poor as they have projected themselves to be, how come they are enjoying such a lavish lifestyle?" he said.   
He said that those leaders who have projected themselves as implausibly poor can be a subject for investigations. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) should look into the matter, he added.

Former CIAA chief commissioner Suryanath Upadhyay echoed Regmi, saying the property details of the prime minister and some other ministers did not reflect reality. He said that the property details furnished by the prime minister and other ministers are unbelievably modest, given their lavish lifestyle even before they came to power. 

"Comparing the property details they have made public with the lifestyles they have been enjoying since even before coming to power will make clear whether or  not they have presented a factual picture. The CIAA can look into the matter," he added. He said  the CIAA can recommend legal action if any person holding public office has tried to hide his/her property holdings.  Similarly, Surya Raj Acharya, a policy analyst and engineer, took to Twitter to vent his criticism. He has tweeted that there should be investigations into the income sources of rich ministers and also into how the ministers who are not rich had been making a living to date.  

Rabindra Adhikari, a  CPN-UML lawmaker, questioned on Twitter why the prime minister did not mention his bank account into which he has been receiving his salary as prime minister.

Sangeet Sangroula
16-12-2016, MyRepublica 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bhattarai stresses on rebuilding Nepal-India ties

- Kamal Dev Bhattarai Former Prime Minister and Coordinator of Naya Shakti Nepal Baburam Bhattarai has said that there is a lack of ‘proper understanding’ in India about Nepal. Speaking to Post before concluding his visit to India on Tuesday, leader Bhattarai said mainly young generation of India has some flawed understanding about Nepal and bilateral relations between the two countries. The former prime minister maintained that there is a need of dialogue, debate and discussions to rebuild the bilateral relations in the change political context Nepal and India. Bhattarai made such remark after extensive discussions with Indian intellectual and policy makers during his seven-day stay in New Delhi.  Bhattarai underlined the need for building a bilateral relation between two countries at the top political levels. Bhattarai was of the view that there has been a huge change in the political scenario of both countries and bilateral relation should be rebuilt accordingly. He ...

Way paved for forming constituency delineation commission

  Paving the way for the formation of a commission to recommend new electoral constituencies under the new constitution, parliament on Monday endorsed the Constituency Delineation Bill through fast track. In less than 10 months, the government must finalize new electoral constituencies in line with Article 286 of the constitution for holding provincial and parliamentary elections. Article 84 of the new constitution has proposed reducing the existing 240 electoral constituencies to 165 for parliamentary elections. Likewise, as provisioned in Article 176, the number of electoral constituencies for a given provincial assembly will be double the number of lawmakers that province sends to the federal parliament.  The commission will finalize altogether 495 electoral constituencies, including 165 for the House of Representatives and 330 for the provincial assemblies. Amending the original bill tabled by the government, parliament included a provision stating that a co...

Elections to oppose regional politics: Chair Oli

CPN (UML) chair and former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has said that the upcoming elections will vehemently oppose and respond to the regional politics and forces involved in disharmonizing the social cohesion. Speaking in a program organized to extend thanks to the volunteers, artists and media for their presence and support shown during the party's Mechi-Mahakali Campaign (March 4-18), leader Oli said so. He added that the people will answer those forces by giving a majority seats to his party from upcoming elections. Leader Oli further shared that the party will launch more effective programme in Province No 2 in near future. He added that the Madhesi morcha showed apolitical behaviors against UML during the campaign being intolerable due to fear of ending their illusion against the constitution and UML if UML launched effective and harmonious programs in Tarai. In another context, chair Oli shared that the attorney general suggested the election commission to touch ...