Deadline for parliamentary committee to probe allegations against Sharma extended by a week

NL Today

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Kathmandu: The House of Representatives has extended the deadline for the parliamentary probe committee formed to investigate allegations of budget manipulation by former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma by seven days.

A meeting of the lower House held on Thursday passed a proposal presented by Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota on deadline extension.

The committee had sought an extension from Speaker Sapkota earlier today. The House committee has been entrusted with investigating allegations of budget manipulation by former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma by involving outsiders to alter tax rates just before it was presented before the Parliament.

Earlier today, the committee grilled Sharma over his alleged involvement in budget manipulation which he has been denying.

Former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma on Thursday denied the involvement of unauthorized persons in the budget formulation. Making a statement before a parliamentary committee formed to investigate allegations of budget manipulation by him, Sharma claimed that he was in the ministry till midnight on May 28, the day before the budget was tabled in Parliament, and only the two secretaries of the ministry, the head of the budget division, and other budget-related staff were present.

Sharma said that he is aware that budget formulation is a sensitive issue claiming that accusations of manipulating the budget involving outsiders to alter tax rates in the budget were baseless.