PM BHATTARAI'S MAIN TASK IN MEETING WITH INDIAN PREMIER MANMOHANSINGH WITHDRAWALOF CASES AGAINST MAOISTS IN INDIANCOURT SAYS FOREIGN MINISTER SHRESTH

UML TO CONCENTRATE ATTENTION ON STRENGTHENING PARTY ORGANIZATION

Kathmandu, 16 Sept. UML will concentration work in the next three months for strengthening party organization.
This was decided Thursday by the party central committee.
The move came as the party moved to the opposition bench in parliament.
UML led two governments for 29 months.
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PM’S ‘TOP PRIORITY’ IN MANMOHAN SINGH MEETING ANNULMENT OFCAES AGAINST MAOISTS IN INDIAAN COURT: DPM NARAYAN KAZI SHRESTHA
Kathmandu, 16 Sept.: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that getting cases against Maoist leaders in Indian courts annulled is the government’s top priority, Lekhnath Pandey writes in The Himalayan Times.

Talking to The Himalayan Times today, Shrestha said Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai would take up the issue with Indian PM Manmohan Singh during their meeting on the sidelines of the 66th UN General Assembly in New York next week and his visit to India, likely early next month.

“It’s a matter of prime concern,” Shrestha said.

Cases against as many as 11 Maoist leaders, including two politburo members, were being heard in absentia by a district court in

Patna, on the charges of their being involved in activities against ‘sovereignty of India and Nepal’.

Regarding past pacts and agreements between the two neighbours, DPM Shrestha admitted that Maoists had some “misunderstanding” with India and would like to resolve it diplomatically. He said 1950 Treaty would not be raised during the PM’s India visit, as it demands more groundwork and broad consensus among Nepali stakeholders.

“The main focus will be how to garner support and assistance from international community, including immediate neighbours, to conclude the twin tasks of ending peace process and promulgating a new constitution before November 30,” he said.

According to him, India’s long-standing demands of an early agreement on mutual-legal exchange and extradition treaties and signing on a strip map with Nepal were unlikely to be met during PM’s upcoming India visit, whose date is yet to be finalised. He said these were sensitive issues and would be addressed better in post transitional period.

The first-ever Maoist foreign minister said the government had maintained good relations with India and China, based on the principle of ‘equi-proximity’. He added that Nepal would sincerely address the “genuine security concerns” of India and China and expects reciprocity from them.

He added that the government would soon initiate the process to appoint new envoys to the countries, including India and China, where ambassadorial posts had been lying vacant. He said the envoys whose tenures were yet to end would continue to hold their posts.

He added that labour attachés would be sent to Nepali embassies in the Gulf countries to address the woes of Nepali migrant workers there. Labour and foreign ministries are yet to come to an agreement on whether the labour attachés should be deputed in the diplomatic missions or not. Files of at least six new labour attachés forwarded by the labour ministry have been lying at the foreign ministry for its approval.
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FAKE DOCUMENTS FOR NEPAL-INDIA TRADE TO SIPHON OFF INDIAN CURENCY
Kathmandu, 16 Sept.: Department of Customs is finalising the tallying process of suspected fake customs declaration form by tomorrow, according to Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI), The Himalayan Times reports.

Department of Revenue Investigation had requested Department of Customs to tally around 150 forms, whether they were real or fake transactions. The customs is giving the details of verified and non-verified customs declaration forms among the 150 cases, a DRI source said.

The DRI has suspected some Rs 1 billion Indian Currency (IC) misappropriation from the 150 suspected fake customs declaration forms.

It will start taking action against the firms once it will receive investigation report from customs office, the source said, adding that it will start investigation of other suspected forms, once it will complete action against the 150 cases.

The Department of Customs said that all the fake customs declaration forms have been produced independently by the traders and firms. “The forms have no connection to the customs offices,” the department’s director general Tanka Mani Sharma said, adding that the traders and the firms produced the fake forms alongwith false transaction to misuse Indian Currency.

The DRI has planned to deploy a team to investigate the cases at the local level too. It will deploy a team to study the actual situation of IC misappropriation and fake customs declaration forms.

After completing the investigation in Birgunj, it will start additional investigation in other districts as well, director general of DRI Shanta Bahadur Shrestha said, adding that the department, though, has already started investigation in Biratnagar, Butwal, Bhairahawa and other districts bordering to India, it will expedite investigation of other districts after Birgunj.

Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank has started its field investigation into the IC misappropriation scam. A team of central bank officials are in Birgunj to carry out investigation of fake transaction through banks. The team will be in Birgunj for five more days. It will assess even a single case rigorously and prepare a report.

The central bank is carrying out the study on whether there is weakness at the policy level or not, spokesperson of NRB Bhaskar Mani Gyanwali informed, adding that the bank is supporting the DRI to investigation the cases.

NBL’s involvement also suspected

KATHMANDU: Department of Revenue Investigation has suspected the involvement of Nepal Bank Ltd in fake customs declaration form scam, according to DRI. “It is suspected that the traders misused Rs 890,000 IC from Nepal Bank Ltd,” director general Shanta Bahadur Shrestha told The Himalayan Times.

Govt employees under scanner

KATHMANDU: Central Revenue Leakages Control Committee under Finance Ministry has decided to put the employees at different customs offices also under the scanner. After receiving complaints of their involvement in irregularities, the committee in its meeting on Thursday took the decision. Similarly, the committee also decided to deploy employees of Inland Revenue Department and Department of Revenue Investigation to different malls, department stores and big shops to check whether they are issuing real Value Added Tax (VAT) bill or not.
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