KATHMANDU, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota on Thursday resigned from his post after being caught on an audio tape for allegedly negotiating for a bribe.
"I would like to inform that I have resigned from my post to the Prime Minister on moral ground after questions were raised about me," Baskota wrote on a social media post.
Surya Thapa, press advisor to Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, also confirmed to Xinhua that Minister Baskota resigned after controversy over the audio tape.
On the tape widely circulated on social media, a negotiation for commission amounting to 700 million Nepali Rupees (6 million U.S. dollars) can be heard between the two persons, allegedly between Minister Baskota and a local agent of a Swiss company vying for a contract of security printing press to be set up by the Nepali government.
By issuing a statement on Thursday morning, the main opposition party in Nepal's parliament, Nepali Congress had demanded Baskota's resignation after the audio circulated in social media.
