Kathmandu, Nov, 8: Nepali Congress Senior Vice-President Bishwa Prakash Sharma has dismissed allegations that Rs 180 million was involved in the selection of Gagan Thapa as the party president, saying claims made by middlemen without evidence cannot be treated as facts.
Speaking at an orientation programme organized by the Nepali Congress Kavrepalanchok District Working Committee in Banepa on Monday, Sharma urged the public not to believe unverified allegations circulating on social media.
He maintained that the special general convention and the leadership elected through it were established in accordance with the party’s statute, procedures and democratic process.
Questioning the credibility of the alleged financial transaction, Sharma referred to the political backgrounds of Thapa and himself. He pointed out that Thapa had served as health minister for only eight or nine months, while he had never held a ministerial position and had served only as a member of parliament.
He questioned whether the two could have paid such a huge amount, adding that leaders who had repeatedly held positions of power over the years would be in a better position to mobilize such resources.
Sharma also stressed that allegations alone do not constitute legal evidence. Citing a hypothetical example of a bank robbery suspect claiming that Rs 500 million had been paid to make a political leader prime minister, he questioned whether such a statement could be accepted as proof.
“Just because a middleman reportedly said something somewhere, will the court accept it? Will the law recognize it as evidence?” Sharma asked, criticizing the tendency to circulate unverified claims on social media.
He urged people to assess allegations on the basis of evidence rather than rumours and statements attributed to unidentified sources.
