Nepal’s finance minister quits

Nepal's Finance Minister Janardan Sharma resigned yesterday after the Speaker ordered an investigation into allegations of unauthorised changes in the budget. Opposition parties and some lawmakers of the ruling centre-left alliance have accused Sharma of inviting "unauthorised persons" to make changes in the rate of some taxes in the federal budget just a day before he presented the spending plan for the fiscal year 2022-23. He has denied any wrongdoing. "I am resigning to help the investigation," said Sharma while addressing lawmakers, adding that he was ready to face the investigation as he had not done anything wrong. Pressure on Sharma has also mounted after the finance ministry said CCTV footage from the day when the alleged changes in the budget were made was not available. Parliamentary Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota gave the multi-party 11-member investigating panel 10 days to examine the opposition's accusations.