CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli on Sunday claimed that the authorities are trying to protect the guilty and frame innocents in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam.

Speaking at the House of Representatives, the main opposition leader Oli said police should be allowed to conduct the investigation independently and impartially.

He claimed the government is attempting to frame innocent people to vacate their positions, adding that the UML is closely watching the investigation process.

“Guilty shouldn’t be spared but now attempts are being made to frame innocents. I would like to warn [the concerned ones] not to get involved in such an act,” said Oli.

Stating that he was not involved in wrongful acts during his tenure as a prime minister, Oli also challenged his rivals to investigate him as well.

“No unlawful activities took place during my tenure. I studied a report from a committee and forwarded it to the social committee of the Council of Ministers,” he said.

In 2019, the then government led by KP Sharma Oli had formed a committee under the then joint secretary Bal Krishna Panthi to recommend ways to manage the Bhutanese refugees who remain in Nepal following the conclusion of the third country resettlement programme in 2016-end.

On a separate note, Oli said that the policies and programmes presented by the President on Friday were not fit to solve the existing problems of the country and asked the government to rewrite them.

“Withdraw the proposed policies and programmes and rewrite it in a way that will advance the political, social and economic development of the country,” said Oli.