Janakpurdham .Chief Minister of State 2 Lal Babu Raut has accused the team of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority of raiding the offices of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers in an effort to discredit federalism and the state government.
Chief Minister Raut also said that he had a telephone conversation with the head of the authority, Prem Kumar Rai, regarding the inappropriate style of the commission.
A joint team of authorities from Kathmandu and Bardibas has raided the Chief Minister's Office today on the basis of a complaint of corruption in the purchase of bicycles distributed to female students under the 'Save Daughter, Teach Daughter' program.
As soon as the team of the authority took the documents under control, Chief Minister Raut organized a press conference to protest against the style of the authority.
He claimed that the bicycles distributed to the students were bought from the company and cheaper than the market price. Chief Minister Raut claimed that there was no truth in the news of corruption and irregularities and that the news was misleading. "It is all a conspiracy to discredit the state government and the chief minister," he said.
However, he also said that he was ready to help in taking action if there was any irregularity in the purchase of bicycles. "However, the raids carried out by the authorities to discredit an organization are completely wrong. It cannot be tolerated," he said.
Meanwhile, Under Secretary and CIAA Investigation Officer Meghnath Rimal shared that the investigation has been started after taking the documents under control. Rimal said that a complaint has been lodged with the CIAA against the Chief Minister's Office for spending Rs. 290 million for the purchase of 41,262 bicycles in four phases.
It was supplied from Om Satyasai Pvt. Ltd. of Birgunj at the rate of Rs. 6,432 including VAT per bicycle. Signo International and Map Helix of Kathmandu had also applied for the scheme.
