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From the Kathmandu Press: Wednesday, July 31, 2019

There are a host of issues that have made headlines on the front pages of major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies on Wednesday. Whereas some newspapers give priority to scheduled foreign trip of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, most news reports deal with other contemporary political issues. A Supreme Court order in relation to the writ filed by a telecom company owned by controversial businessperson Ajeya Raj Sumargi has also received significant priority on the front pages today.

Here is a summary of major stories from cover pages of broadsheets published from Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Important

Supreme Court issues order against Sumargi

Ajeya Raj Sumargi

The Himalayan Times reports in its lead story that the Supreme Court has refused to continue a stay order passed earlier in a writ petition filed by Nepal Satellite Telecom owned by controversial businessman Ajeya Raj Sumargi.

The company had demanded that the court cancel the amount that it had to pay to Nepal Telecommunications Authority as licence renewal fee, frequency fee and service expansion fee. But, a single bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana refused to continue the stay order on Tuesday, according to the report.

Now, the company is required to pay at least Rs 250 million to the Authority, else it may lose its licence.

However, the bench has also sought written explanations from the Authority, the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on why not issue an order as sought by the company, according to Republica.

Ncell dragged into another tax evasion case

Private telecommunications company Ncell is yet to implement an order given by the Supreme Court in relation to a case about the capital gains tax of its 2016 buyout deal. In the meantime, the company has been dragged into another tax evasion case, according to the lead story in Kantipur.

The Large Taxpayers’ Office has claimed that the company showed high expenses and low income to evade tax amount of Rs 2 billion.

Amendment to curtail CIAA’s right

File: Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)

The government is preparing to amend the CIAA Act so as to curtail some of its important rights, reports Nagarik in a snippet. As of now, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority is restricted from investigating into policy decisions of the Cabinet. But, the amendment will bar it from investigating all kinds of decisions of the Cabinet, according to the report.

‘Maoist’ leaders of NCP in identity crisis

Nepal Communist Party office in Dhumbarahi

After more than one year since the unification between the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist Centre to form the powerful Nepal Communist Party, many leaders of the Maoist side have now felt that their identity is in crisis as the UML has has taken most leadership positions of the party, The Kathmandu Post reports in its lead story.

The report also discusses unequal power sharing between two sides while merging sister wings of the parties.

Ignored

Federal, provincial parliaments acting against constitution

Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Deputy Speaker Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe

The constitution has it that the speaker and the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and provincial assemblies should represent different parties. However, both the officials of the House and each of the six provincial assemblies among seven (except Province 2) represent one party: Nepal Communist Party, Kantipur reports in a three column story.

It happened so as they had represented different parties–CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre–during their elections, but the two parties merged later.

Kathmandu mayor on China trip without getting approval

File: Bidya Sundar Shakya

Rajdhani reports in a three-column story that Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya has let for China on Sunday leading a 10-member delegation. However, Shakya has not received any approval from the Cabinet for the trip.

As per the law, people’s representatives at local and provincial levels should take an approval from the Cabinet.

Shakya’s delegation includes his wife, some ward chairs, municipal executive members and some staff.

He is scheduled to visit Lhasa and Chengdu.

Cheque bouncing is no more a criminal case

File image: Supreme Court of Nepal

The Supreme Court has ordered that cases related to cheque bouncing cannot be taken as criminal cases with the government as plaintiff. With the verdict, police will not be authorised to arrest persons providing the cheques which get bounced.

In a case involving Ganesh Bahadur Rawal and Nirmala Sodari, a division bench of justices Dambar Bahadur Shahi and Kumar Regmi made the order, according to Gorkhapatra.

The order also authorised district courts to look into cheque bouncing cases.

Are BJP leaders really insulting Nepal?

Republica reports in a four-column story that the country’s political leaders have said many senior leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in neighbouring India have insulted Nepal as they consistently lobby for the proclamation of Nepal as a Hindu state again.

“While the top echelon politicians here are reluctant to say what they think about such remarks by Indian leaders,’ the report reads, “Second-rung leaders across the major political parties have taken strong exception.”

Interesting

Ruling party prepares to appoint loyalists in universities

File image: Tribhuvan University Central Office, Kirtipur

Despite widespread protests from the public, ruling Nepal Communist Party is preparing to appoint professors loyal to the party as vice-chancellors of seven universities of the country, according to Nepal Samacharpatra.

The positions are being vacant at Tribhuvan, Nepal Sanskrit, Agriculture and Forestry, Pokhara, Purbanchal, Madhya Paschimanchal and Sudur Paschimanchal universities are three weeks.

The report claims two factions of the party–former UML and former Maoist Centre sides–have launched negotiations to find suitable candidates.

 

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