Controversial Lharkyal Lama Appointed Vice-Chairman of Lumbini Development Trust
07th Aug 2023
Lharkyal Lama, known for his controversial background and a string of criminal charges, has been appointed as the vice-chairman of the Lumbini Development Trust, sparking widespread debate and concerns.
Lama, who has faced multiple arrests on charges including possession of passports from three different countries, illegal weapons, human trafficking, and fraud, has been appointed to a key position in the Lumbini Development Trust by the government’s cabinet decision on August 1st.
Despite his history of criminal allegations, Lama’s appointment was made based on the proposal put forth by Sudan Kiranti, the Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation. This appointment was made by the cabinet as all the allegations brought against him were subsequently cleared by both the Supreme Court and the investigation bureau in the past.
Lama, who is a central committee member of the CPN (Maoist Centre), received the appointment letter on Sunday.
Lama, a former CPN-UML member, served as the state minister for finance in the Jhala Nath Khanal-led government in 2011. He became a lawmaker through proportional representation after the initial Constituent Assembly election. Lama resigned on April 21, 2011, only 11 days after taking office, due to controversy surrounding his possession of a Nepali citizenship certificate, an Indian passport, and a Tibetan refugee identity card.
The former minister had reportedly held passports and citizenships under four different names, including Lharkyal Lama, Larkel Sherpa, Wangchuwk Rimpoche, and Chhimpo Chime Tshering. In addition to these identities, he was also in possession of a Tibetan identity card from both Nepal and India, raising further questions about his legal status and credentials.
Following his resignation, he left the UML and later joined the Maoist party, becoming a lawmaker in February 2015. Additionally, Lama was appointed as the chairman of the Monastery Management and Development Committee (now known as the Buddhist Philosophy Promotion and Monastery Development Committee) by the Nepali Congress during 2001-02.
Poor journalism. You missed the most important piece of information – these were allegations that were cleared from the Supreme court and then investigation bureau.
If you are going to publish news, then do better research and bring forth every piece of information related to the case and not half baked news. What a waste of internet space.
Hi Deepak Kharel ji,
What kind of editor in chief are you? You should be ashamed of your journalism skill. The news you have shared here is a reflection of poor journalism…lack of research. This piece of news missed the most important part of the story, which is the allegations that were brought against him were cleared by the supreme court and the investigation bureau. With your half baked news, you are participating in character assignation and spreading false news. Do better job and don’t insult journalism. And you deleted the last comment which is against the freedom of speech that you as a journalist should know better.
Hi Deepak Kharel ji,
What kind of editor in chief are you? You should be ashamed of your journalism skill. The news you have shared here is a reflection of poor journalism…lack of research. This piece of news missed the most important part of the story, which is the allegations that were brought against him were cleared by the supreme court and the investigation bureau. With your half baked news, you are participating in character assassination and spreading false news. Do better job and don’t insult your field of work… journalism. And you deleted the last comment which is against the freedom of speech that you as a journalist should know better.