Chair of the main opposition party CPN (Maoist Centre) and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said the present government was not investigating high-profile corruption cases, including the Bhutanese refugee scam and cooperative fund misappropriations involving ruling party members.

Addressing a mass gathering of the party in Kathmandu, Dahal criticised the KP Sharma Oli government for not prosecuting the suspects in the corruption cases if the individuals are connected to the ruling parties–CPN-UML and Nepali Congress.

During his address, Dahal demanded answers from the government on the status of investigation on the Bhutanese refugee scam, as well as inquiries into various other alleged fraud cases such as the Basbari land grab and Giribandhu Tea Estate. Dahal accused the government of protecting corrupt officials and sidestepping accountability measures, saying, “This government appears to have been formed to shield, not expose, corruption.”

The Maoist chief also questioned why leaders from the UML and Congress, implicated in a parliamentary committee report on cooperative fund misappropriations, have faced no action. “Those named in the report should be investigated and arrested if found guilty,” he said, adding that selectively targeting opposition members for investigation is unjust.

The Maoist Centre chair warned that the government’s focus on staying in power should not lead it to protect systemic irregularities and corrupt practices. “We didn’t take to the streets to overthrow the government but to expose bad governance of the government,” Dahal said, emphasising that any political instability resulting from unchecked corruption would be self-inflicted by the ruling coalition, not opposition efforts.