MAOIST CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETS MONDAY

REPEATEDLY POSTPONED MEETINGS OF CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF UCPN (MAOIST) MEETS SUNDAY

Kathmandu, 14 Nov.: The repeatedly postponed central committee of uCPN (Maoist) meets Monday.
The committee has been empowered to
resolve deep differences in the party that began with the handover by the realigned establishment faction of Chairman Prachanda and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of keys to containers with people’s war
surrendered weapons to a special government headed by
the prime minster.
A faction headed by First Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya opposes the handover terming it surrender without the completion on the peace process.
The Baidya group has opposed a four-point agreement between the UCPN (Maost) and Madeshbadi parties to form a majority government of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai.
The group has also opposed an agreement between Nepal and India
signed during PM Bhattarai’s just concluded India visit to protest Indian investments in Nepal as a sellout.
The committee that was scheduled to meet Sunday meets at one in the afternoon Monday.
Spokesman Dinanath Sharma said Sunday’s scheduled couldn’t be held on schedule because of the absence of Chairman Prachanda who returned home only late Sunday from USA and London.
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PM BHATTARAI URGES A FEDERAL STRUCTURE
Kathmandu, 14 Nov.: Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai said on Sunday that the national consensus for the federalism was already forged on the basis of identity and capability, RSS reports from Lalitpur.

Speaking at an interaction organised on the implementation of federalism by the Ministry of Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Legislative-Parliament, and Culture in Lalitpur, today, he said the federalism is a compulsion for the country like Nepal.

He said it has been too late to talk about the formation of a state restructuring commission, adding the suppressed ethnic communities, regional and language groups would not feel the sense of democracy without federalism in which the people would enjoy their rights and rule by themselves, which is a real democracy.

Minister for Culture Gopal Kiranti, on the occasion said that it was too late to have debates for the nature of federalism and urged all to go for its implementation.

During the programme, political analysts Prof. Dr. Krishna Hachhethu and Dr. Mangalsiddhi Manandar presented papers on 'State restructuring of Federal Nepal and its implementation'.
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DPM AND HOME MINISTER GACHEDHAR GRILLED ON PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON RECENT SUPERSESSION IN POLICE FORCES
Kathmandu, 14 Nov.: The State Affairs Committee (SAC) of the Legislature-Parliament today directed Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar to submit documents on measures and the process followed in the recent promotion of officers in Armed Police Force (APF) and Nepal Police, The Himalayan Times reports

Expressing reservation on the process and criteria followed in the recent promotion of Additional Inspector Generals, SAC asked the Home minister to provide the lists along with the documents of possible and promoted police officers.

SAC has provided a week’s time to provide the details such as place of service, training, and details of award and punishment the candidates received in the course of service.

Lawmakers at SAC had criticised promotion of the security officers terming the decision biased and a ‘game of money’. Recently, the government had promoted Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Nepal Police Nawaraj Dhakal and Bhisma Prasai to the post of Additional Inspector General (AIG).

Dhakal and Prasai are first and second in seniority. However, DIG Dinkar Samsher JBR, who was senior to both was not promoted. Lawmakers also expressed reservation on the appointment of officers by creating special post in the places fallen vacant after AIG Arjun Jung Shahi and Madan Bahadur Khadka were suspended in the Sudan Corruption Case.

Likewise, in the APF too, the government had not followed seniority criteria in the recent promotion of AIGs. Durja Kumar Rai, Jiwan Thapa and Rishv Dev Bhattari, Second, Eight and Tenth in terms of seniority of DIG were promoted to the post of AIG.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home minister Gachhadar briefed the committee on the security situation in the country. He said overall security situation had improved in recent time.

Speaking at the meeting lawmaker Jagadhishwar Narsingh KC said the security situation in the country was still volatile despite Gachhadar’s frequent commitments to improve it.

Lawmaker Chitra Bahadur KC asked clarification from Gachhadar over the news report that the latter had asked for 1.5 crore rupees in bribe form an officer to get him promoted.

Pampha Bhusal also said there was political intervention in the promotion of police officers and that might be linked to the smuggling of red sandalwood.

Lawmaker Rijwan Ansari termed the home minister’s briefing on the security situation a ‘bundle of lies’ stating that the security situation was worsening by the day. “A murder takes place in front of the gate of the police office and the murderers flee on foot and never get arrested. This is the security situation in the Capital, let other parts alone,” he said.

SAC had summoned Gachhadar to take the stock of security situation and the measures security agencies were devising to check crime and drug smuggling.
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• OUTSOURCING AGENCIES SENDING WORKERS TO ISRAEL FLEECING NEPALI WORKERS
Kathmandu, 14 Nov.: Some outsourcing agencies sending Nepali workers to Israel are on a looting spree, charging three times more than the fee the government has
prescribed, The Himalayan Times reports.

The government has set $2,975 (Rs 238,000) as fee to be charged by an outsourcing agency from an individual wishing to go to the Jewish state for work, but some unscrupulous agents have been charging around Rs 6-8 lakhs.

An outsourcing agency, which has been sending workers to Israel for years, fears that the business will be at risk if such crooked agents continued to cheat people. “Hundreds of agents are active across the country, and they are defrauding people,” he said. “The nexus between political leaders and outsourcing agencies has made matters worse.”

“I paid Rs 6.7 lakhs to an outsourcing agency,” said Asmita Pudasaini of Hetauda. Despite paying the hefty amount, she refused to name the outsourcing agency, fearing it could ruin her chances of landing in Israel. She has even started learning Hebrew. And she is not alone. Her friends, who are taking Hebrew classes with her, too have paid Rs 6-7.5 lakhs for the job of caregiver in Israel.

As many as 18 outsourcing agencies are into the business of sending workers to Israel, but a recent listing by the government shows there are 245 agencies showing interest to do the job. The Department of Foreign Employment has been scrutinising the list, suspecting some may have submitted fake authority letters of Israeli companies.

Newly appointed Director General of DoFE Purna Chandra Bhattarai had seized all the documents from staff a few days ago. He is currently studying the files.

The National Vigilance Centre and a commission led by Ganesh Gurung had

also pointed out dozens of irregularities in the department. “Fraud in Israeli jobs cannot be checked unless the government itself takes the responsibility to send workers there. It is high time the government banned outsourcing agencies and started government-to-government dealing,” said economist Chiranjivi Nepal.

Israel is a lucrative foreign job destination for Nepali women, who, as caregivers, make around Rs 80,000 a month.
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