Deputy Speaker Indira Rana has landed into controversy after the letter she wrote to the American Embassy in Kathmandu urging the latter to facilitate the visa process of some people, was leaked.

On February 26, 2023 she had written to the consular general at the Embassy of the United States in Kathmandu to arrange interview dates for six people including herself. Dipendra Gautam, Sushma Lama, Rajesh Lama Tamang, Sujan Magar and Dhan Prasad Gurung were the other people named in the letter.

Rana wrote that as they were attending the 67th session of Commission on the Status of Women that was being held in New York on March 6 to 17, 2023, she wanted the interview dates to be preponed. She is now being criticised for misusing her position to make undiplomatic requests.

Deputy Speaker, a constitutional position, is an ex-officio member of the Constitutional Council that recommends chiefs and members of constitutional bodies and the chief justice.

“If she wanted, the Parliament Secretariat could have made the requests for her through foreign ministry,” said a senior official at the secretariat. “We did not expect Rana to use her [official] letterhead for the visa [process].”

Cross-party leaders have criticised her act. Nepali Congress lawmaker Ramhari Khatiwada raised the issue in the Business Advisory Committee meeting on Friday. He demanded that the reality must come out.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire, however, asked him to concentrate on the meeting’s agenda. He said he would inquire with Rana first, before making any statement.

Hours later, Ghimire spoke to Rana on the matter. “She told the Speaker that she had written the letter with good intent and had no hidden interest,” Shekhar Adhikari, press adviser to the Speaker, told the Post, adding the Speaker is still studying the matter.

Adhikari said as Rana wrote the letter in her personal capacity, there is nothing the Speaker can do in the form of intervention. “It is a moral issue. It’s upto the deputy Speaker how she handles the matter,” he said.

Some media outlets have reported monetary dealings in the recommendation of some individuals for visas. The Rastriya Swatantra Party leaders, however, called it a meticulously planned act to defame Rana and her mother party.

“Who would believe that a person who spent her entire life in philanthropy would make recommendations in exchange for money?” Santosh Pariyar, the RSP chief whip, questioned. “The issue has been brought out one-and-a-half years later. If it had any merit, it would have been made public at the time the letter was written.”

Rana also termed it a conspiracy hatched against her.

Issuing a statement on Friday, Rana claimed there were deliberate attempts to make a mountain out of a molehill. “The attempt to scandalise the letter I wrote out of compassion, after a year and a half, is nothing but an orchestrated move against me,” reads the letter.

“Those who know me well are aware of my nature. I may have many personal shortcomings, and there may be many who try to take advantage of that, but I have never engaged in unethical actions, nor will I ever do.”

Rana said she wrote to the embassy requesting dates for visa interviews as there was little time.

“I had requested the US Embassy to schedule an interview date after I received an invitation to participate in the programme. My companions would be taking part in the same event and could also have helped me,” she said.

“I just requested the embassy to set an interview date. I have not requested a visa for anyone.”

Stating that she has always worked for the nation and the people, she said: “I will not be deterred by ill-intentioned attempts at ruining my public life and the prestige earned over decades.”