Nepal Parliament in deadlock as opposition demands Home Minister's resignation ahead of Thursday's budget

Kathmandu [Nepal], May 27 : A deadlock has started in the House of Representatives- the lower house of Nepal parliament with opposition demanding the resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak ahead of Thursday's planned budget announcement. Opposition parties started the protest demanding Lekhak's resignation citing his moral responsibility in the unfolding visit visa scam.

"In the Tribhuvan (International) Airport, extortion is being made from those flying abroad on a visit visa, and there are reports that confirm that members of the Home Minister's secretariat are directly involved. It is not an ordinary case of corruption; it is looting from the people who are flying abroad in search of job opportunities and organised human trafficking," former finance minister and lawmaker, Barshaman Pun, from the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre, said on Tuesday's meeting.

The anomalies were unearthed after an anti-graft agency, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authorities (CIAA), spotlighted numerous actors, including immigration officers, travel agents, and even those with controversial histories in government offices.
Among those key figures, Joint Secretary at Home Ministry Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, emblematic of the system's return to a high-ranking position at TIA after a controversial tenure elsewhere, raised eyebrows.
Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak had appointed him as the Chief of Immigration at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), who had previously also been implicated in corruption scandals and cases. Bhattarai was transferred back to the Home Minister just a day before the CIAA raid at the Immigration office at the airport.
On May 21, Bhattarai, the Joint Secretary at the Home Ministry and former Chief Immigration Officer at Tribhuvan International Airport, was arrested by police following the CIAA probe into alleged links with a human trafficking ring. He had only been transferred to the Home Ministry the previous evening. Prior to that, he headed the immigration office at TIA, where the CIAA launched a raid shortly before his arrest.
The raid was initiated by the anti-graft agency following multiple complaints about officials collecting large sums of money and illegally facilitating foreign travel on visit visas. The CIAA also confiscated computers, mobile phones, and other devices from the immigration office for detailed investigation. The opposition has called for the resignation of Home Minister Lekhak, claiming he might intervene in the investigation, which also involves his secretariat members.
"This is a serious issue; the Home Minister should open the way to create an environment for an impartial investigation into the case. We would request that. Until and unless such a situation is formed, all the opposition parties will not let the daily procedure (of parliament) move forward," Barshaman Pun announced further.
The lawmakers cited media reports that the scam involved the collection of hefty bribes from individuals seeking to travel abroad on visit visas. The scam allegedly operated with the assistance of officials at the immigration office and had links to people in the Private Secretariat of Home Minister Lekhak.
The Maoist Centre and RSP have both publicly said that Lekhak's resignation is essential for maintaining public trust in the state's ability to conduct a fair inquiry.
"The question has been raised over the minister; investigations should be made, and he should resign. But we are not only demanding resignation; an impartial investigation should be made on this issue of corruption, organised human trafficking, organised crime and money laundering. For the investigation, a high-level committee should be formed to investigate the matter, till then the parliament cannot function," Shishir Khanal, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmaker said.
As per the lawmakers, travellers heading to Europe have reportedly paid up to NRs 300,000 to ensure clearance at TIA. These illicit payments are funnelled through coded conversations, unregistered bank transactions, and backdoor dealings involving travel agents and corrupt officials.
This system functions daily and handles hundreds of cases, with about 400 Nepalis attempting to travel on visit visas each day. The operation's scale and consistency suggest institutional complicity, with minimal fear of legal repercussions until the recent crackdown by the CIAA.
Home Minister Lekhak has been under scrutiny by the opposition parties following the suspicions that these funds are funnelled up the hierarchy to senior Home Ministry officials. Several media reports also had named members of Lekhak's personal secretariat being involved in the case where the fraudulent visa scheme generates illicit payments estimated at NPR 5 million a day.
Many of the key personnel at the airport, including immigration officers directly involved in visa issuance, were handpicked by the Home Minister Lekhak, which the opposition claims has now become a system driven more by loyalty than merit.
As the Home Minister, Lekhak bears command responsibility for these malpractices and the broader mismanagement under his watch. The controversy escalated with Lekhak's appointment of Joint Secretary Tirtharaj Bhattarai as Chief Immigration Officer at TIA.
With the budget scheduled for Thursday and the house in possible deadlock, the house speaker, Deb Raj Ghimire, held discussions with leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties in his chamber on Tuesday. But the efforts were unsuccessful.
Nepal has the constitutional obligation of introducing the annual budget in mid-Jestha (the Second month of the Solar Calendar), which usually falls in the last week of May. On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was also scheduled to present the Economic Survey for the fiscal year 2024/25 to the lower house of the Federal Parliament. However, this has become uncertain due to ongoing obstructions in the House of Representatives.
According to Finance Minister Paudel's secretariat, there has been no alternative plan or discussion so far on how to proceed with the presentation of the Economic Survey if the parliament remains obstructed.