A case against Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal has been filed at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Ram Sogarath Mahat of Sarlahi, Hajariya filed the case on Friday demanding Khanal be removed from his post immediately.
Sources say Acting Commissioner Bhagawati Kumar Kafle has held discussions with senior colleagues on how to proceed. This is the first time a case has been filed at the CIAA against the PM.
Mahat has accused Khanal of being unable to check corruption and extend the cabinet for over two months. He had earlier filed a case demanding the PM intervene to check corruption, and claims that Khanal did not do so because he was encouraging corruption himself. His petition reads: "Corruption is endemic in the government as the ministers are involved in promoting such acts. What is the use of a PM who cannot check corruption?"
PM Khanal has promised to appoint officials at the CIAA, and analysts say the fact that the corruption watchdog has been without a commissioner and investigating officials for four years now has encouraged corruption.
"Political leaders often do not show willingness to appoint officials at the CIAA fearing inquiries into themselves," says an official at the CIAA. A recent report of Transparency International shows that corruption is on the rise in Nepal, and ranked Nepal 146th out of 178 countries in its corruption index.
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