Major issues published from Kathmandu today have prioritised political issues among others. The split in Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Parliament meeting and internal meeting of Rastriya Janata Party Nepal are some major events covered in the front page of broadsheets. Likewise, alleged corruption in Nepal Oil Corporation and Sajha Prakashan has also received significant attention.
Almost all newspapers have follow-up stories on death of four children in Garuda of Rautahat on Saturday.
Important
RPP splits, loses status of fourth power
Most of the newspapers published from Kathmandu today have covered the split in Rastriya Prajatantra Party in their front page.
The party’s senior leader Pashupati Shamsher Rana submitted signatures of 72 Central Working Committee members to the Election Commission on Sunday seeking registration of the RPP-Democratic. Rana needed the support of at least 63 CWC members from the 153-member committee, according to The Himalayan Times.
Of late, Rana and party Chairman Kamal Thapa had differences over whether to join the coalition government and it has been claimed to be the major reason behind the split. However, pro-Rana leader Siddhartha Thapa told THT that Kamal Thapa compromised on Hinduism and monarchy, which had been the party’s main ideology.
Meanwhile, the party lost the status of fourth biggest political force in Parliament after the split. Rana has claimed that his party has the support of 22 lawmakers, and he has submitted the signatures of 19 lawmakers, The Kathmandu Post report says. It means Kamal Thapa has been left with only 15 to 18 lawmakers in the House.
Kamal Thapa, however, has claimed most of the signatures were forged.
House seeks explanation from government on Rautahat drowning
A day after four children died after falling into roadside pits in Garuda of Rautahat district, Parliament on Sunday issued a ruling in the name of government to furnish it with an explanation on how the incident occurred.
After the main opposition party, CPN-UML, obstructed the House meeting yesterday seeking clarifications from the government about the accident, Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar ordered the government to respond to the call in the next House meeting, reports Nepal Samarcharpatra.
As soon as the Parliament meeting began yesterday, UML Chief Whip Bhanubhakta Dhakal had drawn the government’s attention towards the incident.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate into the incident and submit a report within next three days, according to a front page box story in Gorkhapatra.
Ignored
Nepali Army’s Rs 230 million at stake
Around 230 million rupees that Nepali Army Welfare Fund had deposited in various finance companies is at stake, reports Annapurna Post.
The Fund may not get the money back as it has deposited it in the companies which have been declared ‘troubled’ by Nepal Rastra Bank with the hope of getting more interests, the report claims.
Such troubled institutions that the Fund has accounts in are Capital Merchant Finance, Samjhana Finance and National Finance among others. However, Brigadier General Pradeep Kumar Adhikari says the Army has taken initiatives to stop transactions of such companies in order to get the money back. He is hopeful that the Army will not lose its money to the companies.
Health Insurance Bill tabled
Finally, the government has taken initiatives to expand the pilot health insurance programme into all parts of the country as it tabled the Health Insurance Bill in Parliament on Sunday, according to the anchor story in Gorkhapatra.
The bill aims at providing health insurance service to all citizens whereas civil servants and Nepali works going abroad for work have to do health insurance compulsorily, according to the report. Meanwhile, operators of orphanages, children’s homes, rehabilitation centres and old-age homes will be handed over the the responsibility to do health insurance of people living at such places.
The government is currently operating the health insurance programme in eight districts including Kailali, Baglung, Ilam, Baitadi, Achham, Palpa, Kaski and Myagdi.
Meanwhile, the House endorsed the Bill on Rights of People living with Disabilities yesterday.
Interesting
Postal Services Department gets new responsibilities
A couple of decades ago, postal offices in the country would be all-day busy as letters were one of the most reliable means of communication. However, with the rise in access of people to telecommunication and internet services, posting has turned obsolete these days. Realising this change, the government has assigned new responsibilities to the Postal Services Department, according to the anchor story in Nepal Samacharpatra.
Now, the Department will monitor implementation of right to information, renew licences for local radios of less than 500 watt capacity, document data about local newspapers and assist people in filling up application forms for Public Service Commission examinations, the report informs.
After not so much people got attracted to get postal services, the Department was seeking new responsibilities to manage its human resources. The Department currently employs around 18,000 staff including nearly 8,900 permanent ones.
