Finance Minister Dismisses Missing Pages and Tax Manipulation Allegations as Overblown

Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has strongly refuted media reports alleging policy manipulation and the missing of pages from the fiscal documents submitted to parliament. Speaking at a Public Accounts Committee meeting on Wednesday, Dr. Wagle described the controversy as highly exaggerated and misleading. He explained that modifications were restricted to clarifying certain rates inherited from the previous administration, with the only notable adjustment made to the customs duties on humanitarian equipment, specifically blood and vaccine carriers. Addressing allegations that 16 pages had vanished from the report, the Finance Minister explained that in a document spanning over 450 pages, minor formatting adjustments—such as expanding or reducing column margins by a single millimeter in Microsoft Word—naturally alter the total page layout without altering the core text. Dr. Wagle assured lawmakers that not a single period, comma, or content point was modified after the bill was officially tabled, dismissing the dispute as a "storm in a teacup" and expressing his readiness to face further scrutiny.