You cannot criminalize someone from the streets: Finance Minister Khanal

Kathmandu — Finance Minister Rameshwar Khanal has said that no one can be criminalised from the streets.

On Monday, during the 29th annual general meeting of the Nepal Economic Journalists Society (SEJAN), he said that while the law should punish those who err, it is not permissible to label someone a criminal on the streets.

He warned that during every protest private entities are often targeted, saying that in a legal state, attacking someone’s property is unacceptable. “If a person who has created wealth personally makes a mistake, there are laws to take action against him,” he said. “But to criminalise or punish someone legally on the basis of street-accusations is not acceptable in a rule-of-law state.”

He reminded that whether Nepalese or foreign, anyone who created wealth in Nepal becomes national property, and that in the past some investments by foreigners have ended up under Nepali business or government ownership.

He said the government is committed to creating a secure environment for investors.