Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Shashank Koirala has been found to have doled out 'Dashain expenses' to journalists covering the party beat.
Koirala's personal secretary Bharat Tiwari called journalists asking them to meet on Tuesday. "Bharat Tiwari had called asking me to find time to meet him at any cost taking Shashank's name," a journalist confided with Setopati. "I didn't give time as he called taking the leader's name ahead of the Dashain festival."
Tiwari had left cash-laden envelopes at the respective offices of the journalists who refused to meet him. He had left an envelope with Rs 15,000 at Onlinekhabar.
Tiwari refused to provide clear answers when Setopati enquired about the issue and claimed he has not given cash to any journalist. "I am in a meeting now and will call you back later," he said when pointed that the Onlinekhabar journalist reportedly refunded the amount to him in his bank account.
He did not call back for half and hour and claimed that it is not his intention to dole out cash to journalists when Setopati called him again.
The exact details about the name of the media houses and the amount they were given by Koirala's secretariat have yet to be known.
