Gokul Baskota, who resigned as Communication and Information Technology minister after allegations of demanding commission for procurement of security printing press, has lodged a defamation suit.
He has lodged the case with the Kathmandu District Court through a representative on Friday. He has made Bijay Prakash Mishra, who is heard bargaining with him about commission in the audio tape, the defendant.
"I want to inform everyone that I have lodged a case through a representative demanding justice with the District Court, Kathmandu against false allegations and defamation against me," Baskota tweeted on Friday.
Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli on Thursday had defended his protégé Baskota.
Addressing a training program for CPN cadres of Bagmati province in Kathmandu on Thursday, he clarified that Baskota has resigned not because he was involved in corruption but because questions were raised about him.
"An idiot has made audio public in a tape episode. There is no evidence," Oli said. "Gokul Baskota has said he resigned because questions were raised about me. He has said the audio is not his. Its authenticity has not been established. The Swiss Embassy has also said the person is not the agent."
Baskota has yet to publicly state that the voice in the tape is not his.
"It is not necessary to publicize it like corruption. He should face punishment if there is guilt. No complaint has been filed until now," he added.
He pointed that some have lodged a complaint linking him to the scam and called it a farce. "That is a farcical complaint. It is a corrupt complaint," he claimed.
He questioned how can a Swiss agent be involved when there is direct communication with the German and French governments about security printing press. "I am not trying to defend anyone. Gokul Baskota will be punished if he is guilty. The one lying will be punished if not."
Baskota resigned on February 20 after the audio tape purporting him to be bargaining for commission in procurement of security printing press was made public.
