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Kathmandu Thursday February 15, 2001 Falgun 04, 2057.
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Disclose facts or
resign
The opposition parties have been disrupting
parliament for the second day, demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation for his
alleged involvement in the Lauda Air deal. The entire opposition, except Nepal Sadbhawana
Party, had shouted "slogans" until the speaker adjourned the proceedings. It is
not that the parliamentarians on the opposition benches did not maintain ethics in the
House. However, it certainly highlights how the opposition sometimes behaves to disrupt
House proceedings. The disruptions would not have taken place had the ruling Nepali
Congress party really observed norms of transparency while leasing the Lauda Air jet. The
Prime Minister, even if he denies corruption charges in the Lauda Air deal, is directly
responsible for the leasing. One reason the present unfortunate state of affairs has
snow-balled is that the Civil Aviation Minister and the Executive Director of Royal Nepal
Airlines (RNAC) have already had to resign in the face of corruption charges even though
they have stopped short of admitting their own culpability.
The demand for the Prime Minister’s
resignation started in earnest when Mr Girija Prasad Koirala pointed his finger at those
who had disrupted him while delivering his speech at the Pokhara general convention.
Digressing from the speech, he said "those who have doubts over the Lauda Air deal
should come and see the papers". This clearly indicates his deliberate intention of
denying his involvement in the aircraft deal rather than denying any
"irregularities" as such. Here, it also indicates that there were some political
leaders including the RNAC boss who took kickbacks while leasing the jet. The suspicion is
the NC must have used this amount for its Pokhara general convention. Unfortunately, the
Prime Minister is yet to disclose how he and his party managed to get funds for organising
the convention. The manner in which Hari Bhakta Shrestha, Executive Director of RNAC,
resigned a day before the convention also points a finger towards corruption. Similarly, a
day after the convention, Tarinee Datt Chataut had to resign when members of the NC
accused him of involvement in the Lauda deal.
It is true that the Prime Minister has not
admitted his involvement in the deal yet. However, he cannot remain silent on this issue
and not disclose the facts. There is reason to believe that he was indeed behind the Lauda
Air B-767 wide body jet lease deal, as opposition leaders have already claimed. The ruling
party must now show that it is a responsible party and assure the opposition that it will
take appropriate action against those involved. This is not the first case of irregularity
raised in the House. There have already been a number of corruption cases at RNAC during
the premiership of Girija Prasad Koirala.
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