Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat has claimed that there was no involvement of unauthorized persons in budget preparation.
Speaking in the House of Representatives (HoR) after the main opposition CPN-UML and other parties raised questions about involvement of retired non-gazetted first class staffer Ram Krishna Shrestha in budget preparation, Mahat has clarified that his predecessor had appointed a former staffer who only made entries.
“He has been continuously doing this work for years. The finance minister before me also appointed him deeming he is needed. He played role of an associate as a staffer as he has expertize including in codes. There is no way he would be involved in decision-making process,” Mahat has elaborated. “He has made entries as dictated by the officials who were present in the decision-making process. The minister and the secretary cannot enter and type themselves.”
He has added that he has not compromised on his integrity a bit. “That’s why those with vested interests are going after me. The issue is this much. There’s nothing apart from that.”
RPP Whip Gyan Bahadur Shahi raised questions about involvement of retired non-gazetted first class staffer Ram Krishna Shrestha in budget preparation during the HoR meeting on Monday.
The meeting called for 11 Tuesday morning was delayed after UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and RPP looked set to protest.
Discussion on the budget for next fiscal year 2080/81 started in the HoR from Monday. Lawmakers have protested pointing that retired non-gazetted first class staffer Ram Krishna Shrestha was involved in changing tax rates during budget preparation.
Former Department of Customs staffer Shrestha has claimed that he has been working as typist during preparation of budget for years.
