Kathmandu: A Parliamentary panel in Nepal
has summoned Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Foreign
Minister Sujatha Koirala as it looks into allegations by a
Maoist lawmaker that an Indian embassy staffer threatened him.
The Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations and
Human Rights is probing claims by MP Ram Kumar Sharma, who
joined the Maoists after quitting a Terai-based Madhesi party,
that he was threatened by an Indian official. The allegation
has been trashed by the Indian embassy as "baseless and
irresponsible".
The committee has summoned the caretaker PM Nepal and
Koirala tomorrow to discuss the issue and look into the
alleged episode.
"Since Nepal is a sovereign country, any such threat
to a member of its parliament is a serious issue and violates
diplomatic norms," committee chairman Padam Lal Bishwokarma
said.
"We have invited the PM and foreign minister for
discussions regarding an investigation into the allegations,"
he said.
The Maoist lawmaker had told a private television
channel that he had been threatened by a consular of Indian
Embassy during the fourth round of voting in the parliament to
elect a new Prime Minister.
He also claimed that the Indian official threatened to
abduct him and warned that his daughter would be expelled from
the embassy-run Kendriya Vidyalaya.
The allegations have been rubbished by the Indian
embassy.
PTI
First Published: Monday, August 09, 2010, 23:50