On Wednesday, the primary opposition party, CPN-UML, disrupted the House of Representatives meeting by demanding the establishment of a high-level investigation committee to probe the gold smuggling case.
As a result of the UML lawmakers’ interruption, Speaker Devraj Ghimire adjourned the House meeting until 1:00 pm, July 31.
During the session, lawmakers from various political parties called for the government to apprehend and penalize the actual masterminds behind the gold smuggling scheme, not just the carriers.
Sunil Sharma, a member of the ruling Nepali Congress, went a step further and urged the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, and Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, to resign on moral grounds due to the gold smuggling case.
Additionally, other lawmakers, including Devendra Paudel of CPN (Maoist Centre), Rabi Lamichhane of Rashtriya Swatantra Party, Rajendra Lingden of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and Ramhari Khatiwada of the Nepali Congress, demanded stringent actions against the main culprits involved in the gold smuggling incident.
The case came to light when the Department of Revenue seized approximately 100 kilograms of smuggled gold through Tribhuvan International Airport customs on July 18.