Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Management Raghubir Mahaseth has said that the there was no vested interest in recalling the Director General of Transport Management Department Rup Narayan Bhattarai.

Speaking during a programme organised in the Capital on Tuesday, Minister Mahaseth said that Bhattarai was transferred to the Transport Ministry not because of any political motive.

Bhattarai is believed to have been removed at the direct order of Transport Minister Raghubir Mahaseth.

Meanwhile, Minister Mahaseth said that it was wrong to publicise that Bhattarai was solely responsible for ending the syndicate system in the transport sector adding that every agency had equal role in ending the system.

Reports of tussle between DG Bhattarai and the minister surfaced time and again since the government launched a campaign against transport syndicates. Bhattarai did not compromise on his dealings with transport associations and remained firm on uprooting transport syndicates across the country. This made him unpopular among top MoPIT officials.

When it appeared that transport syndicates would escape action, Bhattarai had worked in close coordination with the Home Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office against them. Even Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had assured him support and resources to improve the public transport sector.

On the other hand, Minister Mahaseth had been flexible in his dealings with transport operators and also had meetings with the agitating bus operators. Transport operators protesting against the newly amended Transport Management Directives (2004), introduced by Bhattarai, had been lobbying against him.