KATHMANDU([Nepal):: Protest by the opposition has prolonged the deadlock in the lower house of Nepal’s federal parliament for 15 days following obstruction by the opposition over the visit visa controversy.
Opposition parties have been obstructing the parliament session since May 27, demanding the resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak over the visit visa controversy. Within a fortnight, the opposition has softened its stance over the resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak.
The opposition is now calling for the formation of a parliamentary or judicial committee to investigate the matter. The prolonged deadlock stems from a lack of agreement among parties on how the investigation should proceed, with repeated attempts at dialogue failing to produce a breakthrough.
“The parliament has been in deadlock for over fourteen days. Parliament is a place where the issues of the country are discussed, and we should make an environment for deliberations. In order to create such an environment, all the honorable members of the parliament who are standing, please take your seats. I will allocate time to members of parliament on the basis of party-wise representation in the parliament,” House speaker Devraj Ghimire said at Wednesday’s meeting.
Opposition parties in the House of Representatives have been protesting following the reports on an investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
The anti-graft agency has unearthed a vast network operating the scam with the help of officials at the immigration office at the Tribhuvan International Airport, which involves the joint secretary Tirtharaj Bhattarai, the immigration office chief. Opposition parties have raised question over Bhattarai’s removal from his duties following an inquiry from the anti-graft body following an order from the Home Ministry.
In addition, the network involved in sending people abroad is being reported to have links to the private secretariat of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, who continues to defend himself.
The corroborative investigation conducted by the CIAA has revealed that more staff were deployed at the TIA immigration office than the number of sanctioned posts. It was after the CIAA summoned joint secretary Bhattarai that the visit visa scam was exposed.
Ever since the protest in parliament by the opposition over the issue, House Speaker Devraj Ghimire, leaders, mainly from the Nepali Congress, the CPN (Maoist Centre), and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) have engaged in cross-party talks for weeks but failed to break the logjam.
The RSP has demanded an investigation committee, but the Congress is not in favour of forming a committee to look into the Home Minister Lekhak. Even Prime Minister KP Oli and CPN-UML are not in a mood to form such a committee.
The Congress argues that as the CIAA is already looking into the issue, it is unnecessary to form a separate committee at this time. To resolve the deadlock in the House, the Congress has been holding separate and joint discussions with various parties involving party’s deputy president Purna Bahadur Khadka.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) on Monday released a draft that the party had earlier forwarded for agreement with the Nepali Congress and other parties. The draft proposes a high-level investigation committee within five days to conduct a multi-dimensional investigation into the involvement of government bodies, travel agencies, manpower companies, airlines, and both Nepali and foreign organizations in human trafficking and organised crime under the guise of visit visas, without affecting the ongoing investigation of the CIAA.
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authorities (CIAA)’s investigation has spotlighted numerous actors, including immigration officers, travel agents, and even those with controversial histories in government offices.
Amongst those key figures, Joint Secretary at Home Ministry- Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, the 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 the Immigration at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) who previously also had been alleged 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, 2025, 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.
As per the lawmakers, travelers heading to Europe have reportedly paid up to NRs. 300,000 to ensure clearance at TIA. These illicit payments are funneled 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 funneled 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 have 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. (ANI)
