By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, Aug 9 (IANS): A Nepali lawmaker's charge that he was threatened by two senior officials of the Indian embassy in Kathmandu has prompted a parliamentary committee to summon caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala. The Indian embassy has rubbished the allegation as "baseless".
Nepal's Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations and Human Rights has summoned Nepal and Koirala Tuesday to look into allegations by Maoist MP Ram Kumar Sharma that he was threatened by a senior official from the consular section of the Indian embassy as well as the ambassador last week.
"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 told IANS. "We have called the PM and foreign minister for discussions regarding an investigation into the allegations."
Sharma created a furore Friday, when Nepal held a fourth round of inconclusive election to choose a new prime minister.
He told a private television channel that he had been warned off by the Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood indirectly for supporting Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, and more bluntly by a senior official from the consular section of the Indian embassy, Subrata Das.
Sharma alleged Das threatened to have him abducted. Earlier, a senior official of the Kendriya Vidyalaya, the Indian school in Kathmandu, reportedly told him he would have to remove his daughter from Class 11, where she had been recently admitted.
The Nepali MP originally belonged to a Terai party and won the 2008 election on a ticket issued by it. However, about a year ago, he defected to the Maoists and is said to have been active in encouraging Terai MPs to vote for Prachanda.
Four rounds of voting to elect a new premier have failed due to the Terai parties abstaining from voting.
Sharma claimed to have received the threats on his mobile phone, a claim that was repudiated as baseless by the Indian embassy.
"The allegations are baseless," the embassy spokesperson said, adding that she would not dignify them by commenting on them.
The ambassador was not available for comment as he was out of the country.
On Sunday, Sharma lodged an official complaint with the chairman of parliament, Subas Nembang, who directed the parliamentary committee to look into it. The Maoists have also asked the government to look into the allegations.