Kathmandu. Nepal’s Balen government is stuck in the quagmire of major controversy over diplomatic appointments. The open recruitment process of ambassadors, which was started with the aim of eliminating nepotism and recommendation culture, has now come under the scanner of a big scam and allegations. After serious allegations against the names of the proposed ambassadors to Saudi Arabia and Japan, questions are being raised all around on Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s claims of transparent and clean governance.
Saudi Arabia’s proposed ambassador accused of sexual harassment and extortion
Giri Bahadur Sunar, the candidate selected for the post of Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, has been accused of serious allegations like demanding sexual favours, serious sexual harassment and illegal extortion of 33 lakh Nepali rupees. A woman, who appeared before a parliamentary committee, alleged that Goldsmith had mentally and physically abused her for years. Apart from this, he is also accused of extorting lakhs of rupees from a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Nepal Police on the pretext of getting him promotion. Although Goldsmith has termed all these allegations as baseless, the parliamentary committee has taken the investigation of the matter seriously.
Issue of permanent resident and conflict of interest on Thapa nominated for Japan
On the other hand, a complaint has also been filed against Ambassador-nominee to Japan Jigyan Kumar Thapa. It is alleged that he has Permanent Residency (PR) of Japan, which is completely against the rules of diplomatic post of any country. On this, Thapa clarified and claimed that he had given up his Japanese permanent residence eligibility in March itself. However, his wife and children are still living in Japan, due to which the issue of ‘conflict of interest’ remains constant.
After KP Oli government, recommendations were made through open process
The entire incident of this controversy is related to the month of May, when Balendra Shah took power after the dissatisfaction that arose among the youth against the then government of KP Sharma Oli. Balen Shah organized an open competition for the first time through the Ministry of External Affairs to transform the diplomatic system. Under this process, more than 4,500 applications were received to select ambassadors from more than a dozen countries of the world. Thirteen ambassadors were recommended on 18 September after a three-month screening, but the criteria for selection were not made public.
Strict examination of the parliamentary committee and the government’s stance
The Joint Parliamentary Hearing Committee of the Parliament has asked sharp questions and answers to the nominated candidates. The serious controversies that arose after this selection process, which was started in the name of fairness, have pushed the Balen government on the backfoot. Now it will be interesting to see whether Parliament bans the appointment of these tainted and controversial faces or the government is forced to withdraw its decisions.
