Newspapers published in Kathmandu on Friday have given priority to a host of social, political and economic issues on their front pages. The Supreme Court’s Chief Justice and other Justices appeared before journalists at a press conference the court organised on Thursday. Reports related to the press conference have been published on the front page of some of the papers. The Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN has vandalised more than three dozen Ncell towers across the country, some of the papers report. Similarly, Province 2’s decision to sue the federal government over its decision related to a forest project has also received attention.
Here’s a summary of important, ignored and interesting reports that made it to the front pages on Friday.
Important
The Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Choldendra Sumsher Rana and other Justices of the apex court organiseed a press conference on Thursday, Gorkhapatra and Nagarik report. Nagarik says that the CJ told members of the press to refrain from reporting on sub-judice cases. The paper says that the CJ told mediapersons that a judge’s background and his/her past does not have a bearing on his/her judgement. The state-run paper, however, says that the CJ called on the media to point out mistakes made by the judges. Gorkhapatra says that the Chief Justice, who is also the chief of the court’s Constitutional Bench, has also vowed to resolve a pending case related to the impeachment of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki.
Province 2 sues federal government over forest issue
The Himalayan Times, Republica and Kantipur report that the Province 2 government has filed a case against the federal government over its handling of an important forest project. The Himalayan Times reports that the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment has filed a case against the government for transferring the Sagarnath Foresty Development Project to the Forest Corporation. The paper says that this is the first time that a provincial government has taken the central government to court. Kantipur says that the provincial government claims that the project should come under its ambit as per Annex 6 of the constitution. But the central government says forest resources come under the ambit of the centre.
By-polls likely in third week of November
The Kathmandu Post reports that major political parties have recommended the Election Commission to hold by-polls in parliamentary, provincial and local government constituencies where positions have fallen vacant for various reasons. Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapaliya told the paper that during a meeting with the representatives of major political parties, the commission was suggested to hold the polls in November.
Ignored
One thousand personnel still working as household help
The state-run newspaper Gorkhapatra does not always write stories critical of the government. But on Friday, it carries an anchor piece saying that more than 1,000 police and army personnel are still working as domestic help for their superiors. The report says that of the 15,000 security personnel deployed to provide security to VIPs, 1,000 are believed to be serving as household helps. The paper says that even majors of the Nepali Army are abusing their power by deploying junior personnel for household work.
FNCCI divided over amendment to statue
Th
The Himalayan Times reports that members of FNCCI have been divided over a proposal to amend the body’s statute that would change the way the head of the organisation is elected. The paper says that though it had been electing the president through a direct election in the past, FNCCI switched to a more indirect system in 2016 under which the senior vice-president automatically gets elected president after his/her tenure is over. The report says that former President Chandi Raj Dhakal leads a group of businessmen who want the indirect system to be scrapped so that the vice-president becomes more accountable to the electorate.
Interesting
16% ceiling on interest for cooperatives
Cooperatives operating in the country will not be allowed to provide an interest rate of more than 16 per cent per annum, Karobar reports. The report says that a government body formed under the provisions of the Cooperative Act decided to set the ceiling in order to slash the cost of borrowing in the market. This comes weeks after the Nepal Rastra Bank set a ceiling of 18 per cent for microlenders.
