An audio recording allegedly involving Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Rajkumar Gupta in a "bribe deal" has been made public, but Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has not taken any action regarding the matter yet.
Minister Gupta has neither spoken about the matter, nor defended himself in public.
The Naya Patrika daily and Sidha Kura online had published news reports along with details of a complaint filed with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), alleging Minister Gupta was involved in a bribe deal.
The audio allegedly involved a deal of Rs 2.5 million bribe to appoint someone as the chairman of the Kaski Land Commission and Rs 5.3 million bribe to prevent the transfer of the then-chief of the Land Revenue Office, Kaski.
The issue was also raised in Sunday’s meeting of the House of Representatives.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Sumana Shrestha questioned who the "Ba" (father) mentioned in the audio referred to. She noted that the audio involves one minister (Minister Gupta) implicating another minister (Minister for Land Management Balaram Adhikari), demanding an investigation into the matter.
“Who is the ‘Ba’ mentioned in the audio? Is the two-thirds [majority] about dividing the spoils? Who is providing patronage? What kind of power? What kind of culture? What has changed in all these years? What have the people gained? A parliamentary committee is absolutely necessary,” she said.
Similarly, CPN (Maoist Center) lawmakers Durga Rai and Rekha Sharma also raised the issue, demanding answers from the prime minister.
Following the release of the audio alleging Minister Gupta’s involvement in a bribe deal, voices within the ruling parties, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, have also called for the prime minister to take action against Minister Gupta.
Minister Gupta is a House of Representatives member from the UML.
Setopati contacted him to inquire about the audio recording of the alleged bribe deal involving him.
When asked about the audio and the bribe deal allegations, Minister Gupta denied that the voice in the audio was his.
“That voice is not mine. There is no truth to the claims that I said or did anything related to a bribe deal. We have no authority to manage employees under the Land Ministry; they are assigned collectively, and the ministry handles their deployment,” Minister Gupta told Setopati on Sunday afternoon. “Regarding the Kaski Land Revenue Office, I have no power to appoint or remove anyone there.”
Minister Gupta also denied involvement in the appointment of the Land Commission’s Kaski district chairman.
“In my own district, the chairman of the Land Commission is from Ashok Rai’s Janata Samajwadi Party. If I didn’t appoint my own people in my own district, how could I do so elsewhere?” he said. “Appointments to the Land Commission are decided by political mechanisms and party bodies.”
When asked if he was ready to have the audio forensically examined, given the serious allegations, and why he hadn’t publicly called for such a test to clear his name, Gupta claimed that the audio was released to tarnish his political image.
“I have also been demanding that the audio and my voice be examined I’ve asked the CIAA to investigate what part is mine and what has been manipulated by others. I will also cooperate with investigations by other state bodies,” he said.
He also said that he had not spoken to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after the audio was released.
“I will discuss this with the prime minister too. So far, neither the prime minister nor the party has asked for my resignation. I heard the issue was raised in the House today, and it will likely be discussed within the party. I will act according to the party’s decision. However, all this has come out in a way to end my political career,” he said.
When asked whether he had spoken to the people whose voices were heard in the audio, Gupta said that many people visit his ministry and various issues are discussed.
“People come to the office to talk about various matters. Some issues may have come up in those conversations. But the claim that I negotiated money or demanded a bribe, along with the number that has surfaced, should be investigated by other state agencies. No money has come to my account or any account of the ministry,” he said. “Those who released the audio would know how that number came out. I challenge those who released the audio claiming that a minister demanded a bribe to say how much the minister took. I am ready for a judicial and independent examination.”
Gupta, who hails from Bhairatar in Parsa, was elected to the House of Representatives in the November 2022 election from Parsa Constituency No. 3 as a CPN-UML candidate. He also a central committee member of the UML.
