NC DELEGATION BRIEFS OM UPDATE
Kathmandu, 7 June: Main opposition NC General Secretary Prakash Man Singh Tuesday asked Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal not to fill vacancies in constitutional bodies and four universities.
Singh led a party delegation that briefed the premier on the decisions of the party central committee Monday.
The committee concluded the government was a caretaker that couldn’t make major appointments.
Khanal assured Singh the government would run on understanding.
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NEPALI AIDE OF BABA RAMDEV SLURRED BY RULING CONGRESS IN INDIA
Kathmandu, 7 June: Fresh controversy has surfaced concerning Baba Ramdev’s aide, who allegedly signed the deal [to battle graft] with the government, agencies report from New Delhi quoting Times Now.
Acharya Balkrishna, considered Baba’s right hand man, has been missing since June 4.
The Congress has accused Balkrishna of being a Nepali criminal ‘who has forged an Indian passport.”
Party general secretary Digvijaya Singh said,” Balkrishna is a citizen of Nepal and a criminal who sought asylum in India. There should be an inquiry into how he got an Indian passport.”
Meanwhile, Ramdev said,” Some people are tainting Balkrishna’s reputation without any real proof.”
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BABURAM BHATTARAI CLAIMANT FOR PM
Kathmandu, 7 June: With Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal reluctant to accept the prime minister's post before the promulgation of a new constitution, a race of sorts has begun among the PM hopefuls in the UCPN (Maoist), Kamal Deb Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post. .
This comes amid growing convergence among non-Maoist parties that the former rebels should lead the next government if they remain steadfast on their commitments to the peace and constitution drafting processes.
The CPN-UML has already officially informed the Maoists of their support if the peace process continues to pick up pace and reaches a certain milestone.
Though the Nepali Congress has not formally committed itself, its President Sushil Koirala has echoed the UML line. Even some Madhes-based parties seem open about a Maoist-led national consensus government if some progress on the integration of Maoist combatants is made.
Increasingly, it appears that the ball is now in the Maoist court. Buoyed by growing acceptance among non-Maoist parties and Dahal's reluctance to lead a government immediately, other prime ministerial contenders in the party have begun getting their hopes up.
Vice-chairmen Baburam Bhattarai and Narayan Kaji Shrestha and General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa are likely contenders. Among the three, Bhattarai is a strong candidate and the highest in the pecking order after Dahal.
Bhattarai could benefit from the growing rivalry between the Mohan Baidya and Dahal factions. While Baidya wants to gang up with Bhattarai and unseat Dahal as the parliamentary party leader, Dahal, who is increasingly unwilling to be at the helm of the government at this stage, has indicated that he could support Bhattarai as the next PM--if he reciprocates with a similar support when the party chairman stands again for leadership in the party's General Convention to be held in the near future.
"The party chairman has already made it clear that he isn't interested in becoming the Prime Minister at this stage," said a leader close to Dahal. "But he could very well extend support to Bhattarai if reasonably sure that Bhattarai won't double-cross him once propelled to the government top post."
Dahal's decision could swing in favour of Shrestha or Thapa if mistrust between Bhattarai and him grows, said a polituburo leader.
Another politburo member close to Bhattarai, Ram Karki, appears certain that there will not be any alliance between Bhattarai and the hardliners. The former Finance Minister who commands a popular support could also benefit from the geopolitical situation. New Delhi remains wary of Dahal's first innings as Nepal's prime minister--especially the perception of the "Northward tilt," but it is reportedly comfortable about Bhattarai at the helm.
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GOCT. TO MISS TARGET TO IMPLEMENT SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEME
Kathmandu, 7 June:: Workers waiting eagerly for the government to launch various social security schemes it promised against one percent tax they paid over the past 22 months are set to be disappointed this year as well, Ashok Thapa writes in Republica .
Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) -- the lead ministry responsible for implementing the social security program announced in budget for fiscal year 2009/10 -- has not yet managed to give full shape to a tripartite body responsible for executing the program.
Given that the body -- Social Security Fund Management Committee (SSFMC) -- first needs to work out details of the schemes, mechanism for the delivery of insurance services and issue individual identity (ID) cards to the taxpayers to implement the programs, officials ruled out introduction of the program within this fiscal year.
“Members in the committee were appointed only this week,” said Krishna Bahadur Raut, executive director of the committee secretariat, who himself was appointed on April 9 only. And the government is still to provide enough manpower and logistics to it, added Purna Chandra Bhattarai, spokesperson at MoLTM.
Given the situation, Raut said the secretariat will still take another five to six months to begin its function systematically.
Not surprisingly, concerned stakeholders point finger at each other for the delay in getting the sensitive program, which is believed to pave the way for liberal labor regime, implemented.
For instance, Bhattarai attributed late enforcement of regulation, which was published in Nepal Gazette on March 21, as one major factor behind the delay. Others blamed trade unions for not nominating their representatives in the committee on time. Trade unions, on the other hand, attributed laxness in government machinery for poor information dissemination, something which left them confused in the initial period.
Despite wage row and high inflation, workers, have already contributed Rs 580 million in the fund. Apart from that, workers of private firms have agreed to contribute additional 10 percent of their monthly salary and employers have also consented to contribute double the workers´ amount in the fund. They have also put pressure on the government to make contribution equal to that of the employers in the fund.
The ministry has identified nine major schemes that it will launch in the immediate and medium term from the fund. The schemes include unemployment benefits, work-place accident and casualty insurance, illness insurance, maternity insurance, dependant cover, disability insurance, old-age insurance and family insurance scheme.
Thanks to delay in working out the schemes, officials said the workers might have to wait for one more year to get the beneficiary ID and enjoy the facility. “Realistically speaking, the secretariat can start delivering the facility by the end of next fiscal year only,” said Raut.
Officials of trade unions slammed the government for its apathy in implementing the program on time.
“It is a matter of great shame that the government is paying no heed to implement the programs that are so important for the workers,” said Umesh Upadhya, general secretary of General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT). Ramji Kunwar, senior vice president of Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC), echoed Upadhya.
They added that the trade unions are soon coming together to press the government to complete all necessary administrative works like formulation of law and details of schemes, including guidelines on implementation of the schemes, so that workers could start enjoying returns from their investment from the upcoming fiscal year.
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