Nepal Finance Minister Janardhan Sharma resigns from his post after recent controversy

Kathmandu: Finance Minister Janardhan Sharma resigns from his post after recent controversy. He was alleged of using unauthorized people during the budget formulation.

Allegations were made against him for favouring a few business houses and attempting to hide evidence on CCTV footage. It is said that the CCTV had captured him meeting with business people at the ministry.

The minister failed to provide the CCTV footage of the meeting saying only 13 days of recording was possible to store, which raised questions about the government’s transparency.

However, according to the law, government agencies must maintain the CCTV footage for at least three months.

First, Sharma allegedly breached the norm of the budget formulation process in which the tax issues are considered sensitive to be disclosed to any unauthorised person prior to the budget announcement.

Second, he allegedly outlawed state rule by hiding the footage. Civil society and lawmakers have called this an ‘unethical move’.

The House of Representatives had earlier decided to form an 11-member parliamentary probe committee to investigate the issues.

Sharma announced his resignation during a parliament session on Wednesday, saying he has done nothing wrong. “However, I respect the house decision of forming a probe committee. I have decided to cooperate with the investigation. So, therefore, I step down from my position.”