Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak is under pressure from opposition parties to resign, taking moral responsibility for last week’s reported visit visa scam. Though no concrete evidence of Lekhak’s involvement has emerged, opposition parties are demanding his resignation and the formation of a high-level judicial commission to investigate the issue.
Opposition parties, particularly the CPN (Maoist Center), Rastriya Swatantra Party, and CPN (Unified Socialist), obstructed Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday over the matter. Within his party, the Nepali Congress (NC), Lekhak is known as a politician with a clean image and integrity, having played a pivotal role in Nepal’s peace and constitution-drafting process. A key architect of the current NC-UML coalition, Lekhak is a close confidant of NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba. The NC insists he should be allowed to speak in Parliament to clarify the accusations, but opposition parties remain adamant about his resignation.
The parliamentary obstruction comes at a critical time—the government is set to present its budget on May 29, the constitutionally mandated deadline. Opposition parties have hinted they may allow the budget presentation, acknowledging that failure to do so could trigger a constitutional crisis.
Lekhak faces pressure not only from opposition parties but also from within his own party. Senior NC leader Shekhar Koirala publicly suggested he resign to facilitate an independent probe into the scam. On Wednesday, NC General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa stated that the home minister should step down, calling it a “political and moral issue.” Despite internal dissent, the NC’s official stance is that Lekhak will not resign, nor will a judicial commission be formed. NC Chief Whip Shyam Ghimire said that since only some officials have been implicated so far, seeking home minister’s resignation is unjustified.
On May 21, Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, chief of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Immigration Office, was interrogated by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for allegedly facilitating illegal foreign travel on visit visas. Officials describe the scam as potentially involving billions, with suspicions of senior home ministry officials’ involvement. Bhattarai’s abrupt transfer from the airport to the home ministry—followed by his arrest the next day—has raised questions. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the NC continue to support Lekhak, citing a lack of direct evidence linking him to the case. However, prolonged parliamentary disruption could intensify pressure for his resignation.
The Home Ministry’s reputation has suffered in recent years due to successive corruption scandals. Former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand faces charges in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal, alongside the home secretary and other high-level officials. Former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane is also embroiled in cases involving cooperative fraud and passport misuse. After being denied the chance to speak in Parliament, Lekhak held a press conference to defend his position on Wednesday.
"It is unjust to drag leadership into controversy before the CIAA completes its investigation," he said. "I will not resign based on media and social media reports. No complaints have been filed against me. I deserve justice like any ordinary citizen." He also argued that past investigations into senior Home Ministry officials and the chief secretary did not prompt calls for political leadership to step down. Lekhak assured the Home Ministry would fully cooperate with the CIAA’s probe.
