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Kathmandu, July 15: Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Rajkumar Gupta resigned on Tuesday after a leaked audio recording allegedly exposed him negotiating a Rs 7.8 million bribe related to the transfer of a government official and a political appointment in Kaski district.

In a social media post, Gupta claimed he was a victim of digital manipulation and announced he had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. However, sources at the prime minister’s secretariat clarified that Gupta left the resignation letter at Baluwatar without meeting the prime minister, who was then attending a meeting of the Kathmandu University senate.

Officials close to the matter believe the resignation followed PM Oli’s directive issued a day earlier. Despite the growing scandal, Gupta had been present at Monday’s Cabinet meeting, where the issue was conspicuously ignored.

The leaked audio sparked a political firestorm, with Gupta—also a CPN-UML leader—allegedly heard bargaining over bureaucratic transfers and political appointments. Though PM Oli had summoned Gupta for an explanation earlier on Monday, no action was taken immediately.

The episode has rattled the ruling coalition. Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal Chair Upendra Yadav—whose party’s continued support is crucial to the government—held back-to-back meetings with PM Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to negotiate fresh power-sharing terms. Yadav is reportedly eyeing either a deputy prime ministerial role or leadership of the Madhesh Province.

With Gupta’s departure, political focus now shifts to possible Cabinet restructuring as the coalition balances public outrage and internal bargaining.

People’s News Monitoring Service