Visit visa probe committee faces crisis of credibility

A day after the government finally formed a high-level study and probe committee surrounding the visit visa scandal, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) senior vice-chair Dr Swarnim Wagle has raised questions on its credibility. 

Wagle, whose party has been staging protests inside the parliament since the scandal erupted, flagged a clear conflict of interest in the committee involving its leadership, former Chief Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi.

Speaking at Tuesday’s session of the House of Representatives (HoR), Wagle said that Bairagi has close associations with those currently under scrutiny. That, he argued, could compromise the independence of the investigation.

He added that the probe panel should be formed under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1969, led by an incumbent or former justice, and not someone who is politically or institutionally connected to the accused.

On the other hand, RSP lawmaker and party spokesperson Manish Jha has questioned the committee’s scope. Taking it to X, he pointed out that it does not include any mandate to identify or penalise those involved in the misuse of visit visas. Jha called the panel “a farce designed to shield the guilty” and said RSP rejects what it sees as a patchwork committee.

On Tuesday, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, who is himself facing allegations of involvement and calls for resignation, briefed the House on the panel’s formation and mandate. The committee, proposed by Lekhak, will look into—irregularities in immigration and visa administration; review current processes to identify gaps; and make recommendations for short-term and long-term policy, legal and institutional reforms.

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Following RSP’s address at the House, Gyan Bahadur Shahi of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) too criticised the move, calling the committee “a propaganda [tool] to protect the accused.”

Shahi also demanded an investigation into the role of 14 individuals who served as home ministers in the last 18 years concerning the visit visa scandal. 

After their remarks, lawmakers from the two opposition parties then boycotted the House meeting.

About the committee

Formed on June 23, the committee follows growing concerns over the misuse of visit visas to send Nepali youths abroad. Many of them reportedly end up exploited as undocumented workers in foreign countries.

The committee comprises joint secretaries from six ministries: Tirtharaj Chilwal (Finance), Aruna Joshi (Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs), Ramkrishna Lamichhane (Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation), Maniratna Koirala (Foreign Affairs), Pradip Koirala (Labour, Employment and Social Security), and Anand Kafle (Home Affairs).

The committee is expected to submit its report within three months.

While the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the country’s anti-graft body, after its May 21 TIA raid, has already begun actively investigating the issue, the committee is mandated to look into the matters that fall outside the graft’s jurisdiction, and the probe committee will not interfere in the CIAA’s investigation.

However, the government’s decision to form an internal committee led by a former bureaucrat was still met with dissatisfaction from opposition parties, who have been demanding an independent body or a judicial panel to specifically look into the abuse concerning Lekhak’s alleged involvement.

Who is Shanker Das Bairagi and why his appointment raise concerns—

Although Bairagi has not been tried for any wrongdoing, his long career in the bureaucracy and close ties to those in power is a cause of concern about whether he can lead a credible investigation.

Having worked closely with senior political figures across successive governments, some of those figures include current and former leaders in the Home Ministry and administrators at the immigration department, who are allegedly linked to the visit visas scandal.

Bairagi joined the Nepali Foreign Service in 1987 and held several key diplomatic and bureaucratic roles over his nearly four-decade career. He served as foreign secretary from 2015 to 2020 and was appointed chief secretary in October 2020. Bairagi was swiftly appointed as National Security Adviser in mid-2023 by the then ruling coalition led by Prachanda with Nepali Congress as a key partner, after he chose to retire from the highest position in bureaucracy. 

Having long served in the foreign service, Bairagi had no relevant experience for the security advisory role. Additionally, Bairagi’s resignation, with still over three months remaining until his retirement, paved the path for the appointment of Dr Baikuntha Aryal as the new Chief Secretary. Aryal was about to retire in the next three days. Many view this as a bureaucratic collusion, enabled by the political leadership, pointing to favouritism and concentration of power within a close circle.