KATHMANDU, July 11: Minister for Agriculture Chakrapani Khanal on Thursday said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) should answer questions raised about the Indian letter urging Nepal not to conduct pesticide test on Indian fruits and vegetables.
Speaking at an interaction program in the capital, Khanal said that the MoFA had informed his ministry of the letter received from the Indian Embassy that urged Nepal government not to conduct pesticide residue test on vegetables and fruits imported from India.
Governance by whim undermines rule of law
The minister's statement comes at a time when Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is expressing his dissatisfaction with the ministries accusing them of keeping the letter hidden from him.
"The letter was received by the MoFA from the Indian Embassy. Therefore, it should be responsible for answering the questions regarding the issue," he said.
Minister Khanal, however, claimed that the government has given continuity to the act of conducting the pesticide residue test on vegetables and fruits imported from India.
On a separate note, Minister Khanal claimed that there is no crisis of fertilizers in the Nepali market currently.
