Deuba Asks if Congress Was Bought for Rs 180 Million, Says He Is Still Party President

Former Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba has questioned claims that Rs 180 million changed hands in the dispute over who leads the party, asking his supporters whether a party can be bought and sold for money.

Deuba was speaking at the Kathmandu district convention of his faction at the Rastriya Sabha Griha on Saturday. He was responding to an audio recording in which Inam Sapkota, who is in police custody, is said to have spoken about Rs 180 million in connection with the dispute over the party's legitimacy.

"Inam Sapkota mentioned Rs 180 million. Is that a small amount?" Deuba asked the gathering. "That money was used to buy the party. Are we now going to sell the party for money?"

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Deuba said he had read reports that the then chief election commissioner had spoken of a threat to his life over the question of the party's legitimacy. He said commissioner Janaki Tuladhar had not been afraid, and added that the money transaction made the matter clear.

The former president said he remains the party president and has filed a case in the Supreme Court. A special general convention was held while he was abroad, he said, but he had neither been removed from the post nor held a convention himself.

"I am the president. I have not been removed, and I have not held a convention," Deuba said. "That is why we have filed a case in the court."

Deuba said his faction has asked the Supreme Court to settle the question of who leads the party.

The dispute has split the Congress into rival camps, with both sides claiming legitimacy. Saturday's convention in Kathmandu was organised by the Deuba faction.