Most national newspapers carry news of the National Security Policy being submitted to the Prime Minister by the Defence Minister on their front pages today. Along with that, some national dailies have also carried the news of the government’s failure to arrest key members of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Nepal Communist Party, who took the blame for the bomb attack in Nakkhu, which killed one civilian.
Here is a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from the cover pages of national broadsheets:
Important
Chand people walk free as police await arrest orders
Republica and Nagarik report that police have failed to book key leaders of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) as they do not have any orders to do so from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Following the Nakkhu incident, the security bodies have increased their surveillance on the top guns of the Chand group and reported their findings to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Home Ministry.
According to high-level sources at the security bodies, Chand and party leader Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma were in Makawanpur on Saturday. The Home Ministry convened a security meeting this week in Butwal, Surkhet and Dhangadhi, focusing on the violent activities of the Biplav party. However, there have been no instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office or the Home Ministry about taking any action. The police have however arrested 40 suspects following the Lalitpur bomb explosion, including a former bodyguard of Chand’s.
Similarly, The Himalayan Times reports that security agencies have sought a clear political opinion on Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa.
On the other hand, The Kathmandu Post reports that the Chand outfit has weapons in a large number. Police believe that the weapons belonged for former Maoist rebel.
National Security Policy draft report submitted
Kantipur, Gorkhapatra and Annapurna Post report that a draft report of the National Security Policy has been submitted to the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The report prepared by the Defence Ministry in line with the changed political context and state mechanisms focuses on internal security and border control. The report has been accepted by the National Security Council and is now being put forward to the Cabinet.
Nepal and Japan to finalise labour migration mechanisms within March
The Kathmandu Post reports that Nepal and Japan are likely to agree and finalise the formalities required for the migration of Nepali workers to Japan within this month. According to a top official at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, governments of both countries have expedited the process after positive discussions.
According to the agreement, Japan will hire a total of 345,000 foreign workers from China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam over the next five years. The decision came in December last year and Nepal is the only country from South Asia which is on the list.
According to the ministry official, the labour migration of Nepali workers will most likely happen under the government-to-government (G2G) modality in which governments of both countries oversee the overall process of labour migration.
Ignored
Local units want revision in federal bills
The Kathmandu Post reports representatives of the local governments have demanded revisions in various federal draft laws, saying that they encroach upon their constitutional jurisdictions. The federal government has readied over a dozen bills to divide powers and responsibilities between the three tiers of government. Some of them are under consideration in Parliament.
Leaders of the Municipal Association of Nepal and the National Association of Rural Municipalities say that the federal bills related to education and forest and land, in particular, contradict the spirit of the statute. They have demanded immediate revision to the bills before they are tabled in the federal parliament for endorsement.
VVIP ward at Bir Hospital unused for 29 years
Naya Patrika reports that the VVIP ward Bir Hospital which was constructed for millions of rupee has been collecting dust for the past 29 years. This has been happening because all prominent figures have been heading to foreign countries for medical treatment. According to the foreign ministry, VVIPs have spent around Rs 2.7 million in taxpayers’ money for treatment abroad. The VVIP ward has eight rooms including an ICU and room for the patients family and a kitchen.
Govt’s plan to increase per capita income to $12,500 in 25 years
Naya Patrika and Karobar report that the government is hoping to increase the per capita income of its citizen to $12,500 within 25 years. This plan has been put forward to the government by the Planning Commission. The long term vision of the commission is to increase the current per capita income which is $1,012 to $1,500 in the next three years and to $4,100 by 2032.
Interesting
Nepal Engineering College in coma
The Himalayan Times reports that the Bhaktapur-based Nepal Engineering College has virtually been in a state of coma, thanks to a faction that wants to turn a social enterprise into a profit venture.
After producing several batches of engineers, a faction led by Lambodar Neupane made an attempt to change the status of the college to a profit-making private limited company in 2017. College Principal Hari Krishna Shrestha said Neupane might have bribed former commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Raj Narayan Pathak in desperation to get the status of the college changed. According to Shrestha, two board members of the college, Dipak Bhattarai and Hari Prasad Pandey, who are close to him, had lodged a complaint of corruption at the CIAA in May. They had demanded a probe into alleged irregularities. Shrestha said Neupane might have bribed Pathak because he needed a clean chit from the CIAA to get affiliation from Mid-western University.
Teachers’ strike to affect 6 million students at govt schools today
Rajdhani and Republica report that around six million students studying at government and community schools across the country will be affected on Tuesday as the relief quota teachers and pre-primary teachers in those schools have announced a nationwide school closure demanding a revision of the draft federal education bill. The teachers launched their strike from Sunday. Private schools, however, will not be affected by the strike.
Nepali diplomats don’t pay tax
Rajdhani reports that some diplomats mobilised by the Ministry of Foreign Affair in foreign countries have not paid tax to the government for over 10 years. Some diplomats have not paid income tax on the allowance given to them by the government while going abroad. The government over the past decades has failed to obtain taxes worth Rs 187 million from these diplomats. The diplomats includes ambassadors who have not paid tax after being exempted by the Council of Ministers.
