Audiotape controversy stalls House

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Sept 7: The second session of the legislature-parliament on Tuesday, which was supposed to deliberate the amendment to the finance bill, could not take place after the UCPN (Maoist) objected to a proposal by the ruling parties to allocate time for discussion of the recent audiotape controversy.

Immediately after the first session, NC and the UML demanded that parliament discuss the controversial audiotape episode, but the Maoists stated that they cannot let the issue enter parliament on Tuesday as they were not informed about the ruling parties´ proposal in advance.

“We demanded that parliament immediately take up such a sensitive issue which we cannot afford to ignore. But this could not happen as the Maoists threatened to boycott the House,” said NC chief whip Laxman Ghimire.

In the audiotape leaked to media last Friday, a voice allegedly that of Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara asks a “Chinese man” for Rs 500 million for the UCPN (Maoist) to buy some 50 lawmakers and win the prime ministerial race.

“The controversy must be resolved. House deliberations and a probe will give a clean chit to the Maoists if the audiotape is not genuine,” Ghimire added.

But the Maoists said they were not prepared to discuss the issue as the ruling parties have pushed for it all of a sudden.

“We are not against discussing the issue altogether and said it could be discussed at another meeting. The House agenda is fixed in advance, so the ruling parties´ demand is against parliamentary practice,” said Maoist chief whip Post Bahadur Bogati.

He said the Maoists are also for deliberations on the issue as the “so-called tape” has been publicized at a sensitive time. “If the tape is genuine, we will have so many questions to ask: who records the conversations of statesmen, who made the tape public, and which power centers are involved?”

The Maoists also demanded that the government rather work through a legal provision enacted in 2012 Bikram Era to increase customs duty on gold imports. The House has been adjourned till Thursday.

The government is likely to withdraw the bill if the customs duty on gold can be increased through that legal provision. The NC and UML have said they will raise the audiotape controversy on Thursday.