With the official announcement of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s state visit to India beginning April 6, newspapers are gradually providing more space to the issue. Major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Sunday have covered the topic from different perspectives. Some newspapers have suggested what agendas he should take to New Delhi.
Besides this, other issues that have appeared on the front page of major Kathmandu newspapers are also about politics. The CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist Centre are struggling hard to iron out differences between them on various issues and as in past weeks, it also has become a hot topic for the press.
As the third anniversary of the 2015 earthquake is just 24 days away, Republica and The Kathmandu Post have published reports about the slow pace of reconstruction works on their front page today.
Important
PM says he wants India’s support in development
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is leaving on a three-day state visit to India this Friday, has said he has expected the southern neighbour’s supportive role in Nepal’s development projects, according to The Himalayan Times lead story.
Gorkhapatra anchor story features opinions of three foreign affairs experts including Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, Lok Raj Baral, Rajan Bhattarai and former foreign affairs minister Upendra Yadav about PM’s India visit. The report says they want the visit to be centred on strengthening mutual trust while maintaining nationalism and the country’s best interests.
Meanwhile, officials of Nepal Rastra Bank have hoped that the Prime Minister will hold talks with Indian authorities about exchanging banned Indian banknotes of denomination Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 that have been stuck in Nepal after Indian PM imposed the ban in November 2016, according to The Kathmandu Post.
Forum to join govt after PM’s India trip
The Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal led by Upendra Yadav is likely to join the incumbent government after PM Oli returns from his India visit, reports Naya Patrika. The Madhesh-centric party is preparing to be a part of the government after PM Oli agreed to amend the constitution in consensus.
The report claims that the two sides have already drafted an agreement to sign between them whereas the number of ministries the party will get in the government has also been fixed.
Republica gives a different angle to the issue that PM Oli wants to take India into confidence before making any promise to revise the constitution as suggested by leaders of the left alliance.
Ignored
Internal democracy weak in major parties
The lead story in Annapurna Post expresses concerns over the miserable status of internal democracy in three major political parties—CPN-UML, Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre. The report claims that chairs of the parties—respectively KP Sharma Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal are so powerful in the party that no one dares to protest their moves, enabling them to take decisions without any discussion in the party.
PM stresses zero tolerance against corruption
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that his government will adopt the policy of zero tolerance against corruption, reports Republica, adding that the PM also stated that the government was trying to create an environment favourable before for achieving th goals of development and prosperity.
Oli was speaking at the anniversary function of Reporters Club Nepal in the Capital yesterday.
Kin of Vice-President, Home Minister accused of operating illegal sand mines
Nagarik lead story for the day says two key family members of Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun and Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa are also involved in the operation of illegal sand mine in Dukuchhap, Godavari Municipality-6 of Lalitpur district.
Quoting the ward chairman Suka Bahadur Lama, the report claims that Pun’s son Dipesh and Thapa’s brother Naresh have invested in a mine which is not registered at the concerned government agency and involved in smuggling of sand.
Interesting
New law to control anarchy in transport sector
The government is preparing to issue a new directive to transport entrepreneurs in a bid to regulate the sector including operations of vehicles, vehicle workshops and driving training centres, according to Karobar.
The Department of Transport Management has already prepared the draft, the report says. Once the new law comes into effect, the transporters should register themselves as a company, but not business committees so that the existing anarchy would be controlled.
CIAA to open engineering lab to investigate development projects
A brief report in Kantipur states that Nepal’s anti-corruption constitutional watchdog, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, is preparing to establish a civil engineering lab in order to investigate into reports of corruption in various infrastructure development projects including construction of roads and public buildings.
The CIAA officials say an efficient team has already been set up for the new unit.
