- Sher Bahadur Deuba accused rival factions of paying 180 million rupees to secure official Nepali Congress recognition from the Election Commission.
- The allegations surfaced following a leaked audio recording suggesting financial corruption and claims that election officials acted under duress.
- Gagan Thapa’s faction rejected the bribery claims, noting that the Supreme Court previously upheld the legitimacy of their leadership committee.
- Deuba continues to challenge the rival leadership, asserting that the special convention held during his absence violated party protocols.
Kathmandu, Nepal: Former Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has accused rival factions of paying NPR 180 million (18 crore rupees) to secure official recognition of the party.
Deuba raised sharp questions on Saturday regarding the former Election Commission's decision after an audio recording allegedly featuring Inam Sapkota, who is currently in police custody, surfaced online detailing the transaction.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Kathmandu District Convention organized by his faction at the City Hall, Deuba expressed outrage over the alleged buyout.
'Inam Sapkota claimed 18 crore rupees was involved. Is that a small amount of money? They bought the party with that cash. Are we now going to allow the party to be sold for money?' Deuba asked the audience.
Linking the allegations directly to the Election Commission's past verdict, Deuba questioned the conduct of commission officials at the time. He claimed to have learned through media reports that the former Chief Election Commissioner granted official recognition under duress due to personal safety threats.
'We had filed a case with the Election Commission back then. However, reports surfaced where the former Chief Commissioner stated the decision was made under threat to his life,' Deuba said.
Deuba further cited former Election Commissioner Janaki Tuladhar to allege financial corruption behind the ruling. 'Is it plausible that a female commissioner remained unfazed while the Chief Commissioner succumbed to fear? Money clearly changed hands,' he stated.
The leaked audio recording claims that NPR 180 million was transferred to award official party legitimacy to the faction led by Gagan Thapa, implicating several figures across judicial and political sectors. However, the authenticity of the recording and the financial claims remain independently unverified.
The Thapa-led Nepali Congress faction has rejected the allegations. Party President Gagan Thapa denied any monetary transactions during the official recognition process and called for an impartial investigation.
The legitimacy dispute stems from a special general convention organized amid growing internal rifts over regular convention scheduling and executive leadership. The special convention elected a new central working committee headed by Gagan Thapa, a move immediately challenged by the Deuba faction.
After the Election Commission recognized Thapa's executive committee, the Deuba faction appealed to the Supreme Court. The apex court upheld the commission's ruling, granting the Thapa-led leadership official administrative authority over the party.
Despite the court order, the Deuba faction maintains that its leadership remains legitimate, arguing that proper protocols were not followed to remove Deuba from the presidency.
'While I was abroad, a special general convention was organized without my consent. I remain the party president; I was neither removed nor did I call the convention,' Deuba reiterated on Saturday.
The Nepali Congress remains divided, with the Deuba faction running parallel organizational activities while the Thapa-led committee operates with official state recognition. Authorities have noted that forensic analysis of the audio recording and financial investigations are required before legal conclusions can be drawn.
