KATHMANDU: A heated debate erupted within the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as lawmakers clashed over parliamentary oversight standards and alleged tax rate manipulations in the upcoming budget.

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmakers Manish Jha and Bipin Acharya strongly criticized the growing trend of levying grave accusations against the government and global brands like BYD based on social media headlines rather than hard statistics.

They argued that rushing to form probe committees before allowing the Ministry of Finance to clarify stifles due process and severely damages Nepal’s international investment climate.

Lawmaker Khagendra Sunar supported this stance, cautioning against political scapegoating of Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle for minor bureaucratic or technical errors already acknowledged by the ministry, famously noting that “the driver shouldn’t carry the blame for mischief created by passengers in the back seat.”

However, Rastriya Prajatantra Party chief whip Khushbu Oli strongly countered this defense, asserting that questioning and ensuring accountability is the fundamental duty of parliamentary committees.

Dismissing the defense that the budget discrepancies were merely “linguistic errors,” Oli emphasized that a mere one percent fluctuation in tax rates shifts billions in state revenue, making invisible alterations after a bill is tabled a grave matter.

Clarifying that the scrutiny was a critique of systemic transparency rather than a personal attack on the minister’s integrity, she demanded a collective and transparent investigation to safeguard the reputation of the Ministry of Finance and customs administration.