Sirohiya further said that in the statement that may be he was trying to divert the people’s attention away from his dual citizenship related case.
During a press conference held on Sunday, Lamichhane had made various accusations against Sirohiya and the Kantipur Media Group. The Chief of the Kantipur Media Group expressed his regret that Lamichhane leveled baseless allegations against the Nepali media fraternity and media personnel. “He was trying to attack the prestige and trustworthiness of the Nepali media in a premeditated way either to cover up his mistakes or weaknesses,” he said, adding, “Those who believe in press freedom and democracy will not tolerate this.” Expressing his serious reservations over Lamichhane’s accusations that he owned shares of Chandragiri Cable Car allegedly in return for stopping to publish the news against the Chandragiri Hills project, he said that I don’t know if he knows this: Chandragiri Hills is a public limited company and anyone can easily check who owned what percentage of shares in it and at what time, from the concerned government office. Neither I nor any of my family members has ever owned a single share in the company. I have serious reservations over Lamichhane’s false accusations along this line. Sirohiya said that yes, it was true that his son’s (Sambhav Sirohiya) car met with an accident in Maitighar on December 12, 2015. But, unlike Lamichhane’s portrayal of the incident, neither had the car hit any pedestrian on the street nor had it collided with any other vehicle. It was an unfortunate accident in which one of my relatives sustained minor injuries for which he was treated at Norvic Hospital for a time, he said. There was absolutely nothing in the incident that should have been hidden, nor was any attempt made to hide it. Instead, Sambhav Sirohiya had formally notified the Traffic Police Office at Baggikhana of what had happened, he added. “We are surprised why a person who has already served in the capacity of Home Minister would try to mislead the public by suggesting a cover-up. And who gave him the right to try to destroy someone’s private life by spreading such a blatant lie?” he questioned. In response to the questions raised by Lamichhane over his investments Himalayan Reinsurance Limited, Sirohiya said that the company was being established some years ago, as a businessman. He too had bought promoter shares worth Rs 10 crores. “I did not get the shares as a personal favor but bought them with my own taxable income. For this purpose, I had withdrawn money from my accounts in Kumari Bank and Nepal Investment Bank Limited and bought the shares with the same money. Why can’t I take part in a perfectly legal business transaction?” he questioned. Sirohiya said that Lamichhane had brought up an unsubstantiated claim once made by businessmen Ajaya Sumargi that Sirohiya used to get ‘golden shares’ for every big business established in the country. Expressing his dissatisfaction over Lamichhane's statement, he said, “I would like to remind everyone of the ruling of the Kathmandu District Court in our favor in relation to a case we had filed against Sumargi. Can Lamichhane furnish any proof that I had accepted such golden shares? I want to challenge him: Can he point to a single share that I or any of my family members bought with an income that we did not earn from legal sources and for which we did not pay taxes?” he questioned.
