Gagan Thapa denies knowing Inam Sapkota or paying anyone

Nepali Congress leader Gagan Kumar Thapa has denied knowing Inam Sapkota or any middlemen, and has rejected claims that he paid money in a dispute over the party's legitimacy.

Thapa spoke at a meeting of senior party leaders on Wednesday, where he said he had no acquaintance with Sapkota or people acting as middlemen, and that he had paid nobody.

He rejected the claim that he had given Rs 180 million in connection with the dispute over the party's legitimacy, saying there was no truth in the allegation.

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He said, "You may think my president paid money. But I want to make it clear, I have not paid anyone."

Thapa also said he had not seen Sapkota and did not know him. He said, "I have not even seen Inam Sapkota or such middlemen, nor do I know them. I have nothing about Inam in my memory."

He told the meeting that he had also had no meeting or conversation with former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana since the party's special general convention.

The denial comes as Congress leaders have called for a fair and independent investigation into the audio scandal at the centre of the dispute, and into the claims made about the party's legitimacy.

Thapa's remarks were made to senior leaders at the meeting on Wednesday, where the party's leadership discussed the allegations and the calls for an investigation.