RIFT WIDENS IN UML AS NEPAL, OLI HOLD DISCUSSIONS WITH MAIN OPPOSITION

MADHAV KUMAR NEPAL, KP OLI HOLDING DISCUSSIONS WITH NC LEADERS

Kathmandu, 11 May: Former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and KP Sharma Oli are holding discussions with main opposition NC leaders Wednesday as a crisis in the ruling UML deepens after Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal handed over the home ministry portfolio to Maoists against defying party directive.
Party leader Pradip Gyewali said Nepal and Oli will hold discussions with other parties as well.
The faction led by Nepal and Oli has also threatened to oust Khanal from party chairmanship and pull down the Khanal government,
The prime minister, who is in Turkey, has decided to cut short his visit.
Meetings of the politburo and central committee have been called to discuss the differences in the party leading the government.
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AISHWARYAMALA GIVES BIRTH TO FEMALE CALF

Kathmandu, 11 May: Aishwaryamala gave birth to a female calf at the elephant breeding center at Khorshort, Sauraha, in the Chitwan National Park Monday,Gorkhapatra reports from Chitwan.
The calf weighs 50 kg.
Thailand gifted the elephant in 2043 or 25 years ago.
There are now 57elephants in the park.
The breeding center was established in 2043 when India gave nine male and seven female elephants in exchange for four rhinos.
Burma gave Nepal an elephant pair in 2034.
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MAOISTS ARRESTED FOR EXTORTION

Kathmandu, 11 May: Activists of Maoist YCL have been arrested for forcibly attempting to extort Rs 800,000 at Dukuchap VDVC in Lalitpur, Pratina Baskota reports in Kantipur.
Dobang Blom YCL in-charge of Lalitpur-4, Santaman Lama and Hari Bhojel were arrested; Blom in member of Newa Rajya Samiti.
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DEEP RIFT IN MAOIST DISCIPLINARY CELL

Kathmandu, 11 May: The widening rift between Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Vice-chairperson Mohan Baidya has affected the functioning of the Maoists' Central Disciplinary Department.
The Maoist Standing Committee (SC) had formed the disciplinary department on Feb 26 to monitor the implementation of the party's code of conduct. Party Secretary Post Bahadur Bogati is the coordinator of the department. Although three months have elapsed since
the cell's formation, there has not been any progress towards investigation into cases lodged against the party leaders and cadres.
A department member said they have not started the task due to the ever-widening intra-party rift. Coordinator Bogati has reportedly told his team members to refrain from initiating the task at this juncture. “If we start to investigate into financial irregularities and organisational anarchism, the disgruntled faction might take it as a revenge, which further deepens the crisis,” said a member. The department sought the party's mandate to investigate into financial irregularities and organisational anarchism a month ago. The leadership had formed the department after widespread complaints and dissatisfaction that party leaders and cadres were involved in financial irregularities.
According to leaders, there are hundreds of cases registered in the party headquarters against leaders of cadres about amassing property and violating the code. The leaders said there are three types of anomalies--- organisational violation, financial irregularities and cultural deviation. Hasta Bahadur KC, a member of the department said their works have been stalled due to the growing intra-party fissure, mainly between two factions. “There has not been any progress in our work due to the widening intra-party rift,” said KC.
According to sources, even top brass will come under the department's scanner for involving in financial irregularities.
Leaders say the top leaders really do not want to make the department effective and result-oriented. The party implemented a 15-point code with a view to controlling the “lavish lifestyle” of the leadership.
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NRB TO CONDUCT DDA OF NSM



Kathmandu, 11 May:With cases of financial embezzlement surfacing one after another, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has decided to conduct an independent Due Digilence Audit (DDA) of Nepal Share Market and Finance (NSMF). has found misappropriation of funds on a huge scale by Yogendra Prasad Shrestha, former chairman of NSMF. “Records of around Rs 165 million deposits of Citizens Investment Trust (CIT) have not been found at NSM,” said a senior NRB official. “CIT had deposited Rs 360 million in NSMF.”, Mukul Humagain reports in The Kathmandu Post.
Shrestha was earlier found to have misappropriated Rs 200 million of Rastriya Beema Sansthan (RBS). According to NRB officials, details of the deposit of RBS have not been included in the corporate deposit details that NSMF has to send to the central bank. “Our probe has found that RBS’s Rs 200 million was used to purchase rights shares under Shrestha’s direction,” said the official.
The C class financial institution has already raised its paid-up capital to Rs 2 billion to upgrade itself to a commercial bank. It has also filed an application at the central bank for the purpose. The NRB’s probe so far has unearthed that Rs 1.57 billion was withdrawn from the institution by creating fake accounts. Shrestha and his family have 40 percent investment in NSMF.
Also on Tuesday, the central bank decided to freeze fixed and movable assets belonging to Shrestha. It has also been decided that Shrestha and his family will be taken action as per the Banking Offence and Punishment Act. “The central bank will write a letter to finance and home ministries in this regard,” said the NRB official. Under the Banking Offence and Punishment Act, Shrestha may face five years prison sentence and penalty. The central bank on Sunday decided to seize Shrestha’s passport.
Following Shrestha’s refusal to produce documents sought by its supervision team, the NRB on Thursday had frozen his bank accounts and lockers. The banking regulator has also frozen bank accounts of Gita Shrestha and Saurav Shrestha, relatives of Shrestha. According to a notice issued by NSMF, the company has deposits worth Rs 3.25 billion of common people and Rs 2.75 billion of loans can be recovered. It has also claimed that Rs 4.55 billion can be raised through the sale of assets belonging to Shrestha and his family and loan recovery.
The central bank on Tuesday also directed NSMF and Gurkha Development Bank (GDB) to open their branches that were closed without any reason. NSMF had closed its branches since Friday after NRB initiated action against Shrestha, while GDB’s branches are closed after the election of the new board of directors. “Banks and financial institutions have to take NRB’s permission to open or close branches,” said the NRB official.
GDB had closed its branches a week after the election of new directors. According to NRB, GDB distributed Rs 250 million during that week. After the NRB’s direction, NSMF opened its central office from 3 pm on Tuesday.
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