By Our Reporter
Finance Minister Janardan Sharma finally resigned after the controversy regarding the involvement of an unauthorised person in changing the tax rate a night before Sharma was to table the budget in the parliament. Although Sharma denied the involvement of any outsider in the budget preparation process and was adamant to quit the post, he had to leave after the CCTV footage believed to have the records of whether any outsider was in the budget preparation process were removed. When the Ministry of Finance stated that the footage was removed in 13 days, Sharma had no option but to quit when Gagan Kumar Thapa of NC and UML chair Oli demanded his resignation.
Now a parliamentary committee is investigating the issue and the committee had sought the footage of the CCTV camera. However, according to the news report that exposed the involvement of unauthorized men in the budget finalization process, it seems Sharma had had a man to make corrections in the tax rate in favour of some businessmen and traders close to Arzoo Rana, the spouse of PM Deuba. Moreover, the Finance ministry officials were also well aware of the incidents but did not make it public in time. Instead, they resorted to deleting the CCTV footage. Hence, they have also committed a crime.
The national economy is in crisis now and the attempt made to change the tax rates for the benefit of particular individuals will surely affect the nation. As such, what Sharma and the Finance Ministry officials did was a crime, and anyone involved in the crime against the nation should deserve punishment. But the committee formed to investigate the case is not likely to recommend any legal actions against the wrongdoers.
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