Report in The Kathmandu Post, January 24, 2023The Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament that has been lobbying for amending the contradictory provisions in the law relating to presidential election, has demanded that the election be held on time. After giving a confidence vote to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 10, the Nepali Congress is attempting to break the ruling UML-Maoist alliance and expecting Dahal’s support for Congress’ bid for presidency. “We…
Posts published in “Nepal”
Report in The Kathmandu Post, January 24, 2023Police on Monday arrested several rights activists including Ruby Khan, who has been staging a sit-in demanding action against the culprits involved in the suspicious disappearance and death of Banke’s Nirmala Kurmi of Banke. Police arrested seven rights activists including Khan while protesting in front of the Kathmandu District Court in Babar Mahal. The arrested individuals are being held at the police office in Singha Durbar. A group…
by Purushottam Poudel in The Kathmandu Post, January 24, 2023Since the formation of the Pushpa Kamal Dahal government in the last week of December, ministers seem to be competing with each other in giving directives to various departments. However, experts find no meaning in such directives other than publicity of the ministers’ actions. They say their on-the-spot instructions would not resolve any problem. The ministers should have a strong command at the policy level and…
by Prithvi Man Shrestha in The Kathmandu Post, January 24, 2023China has proposed a visit by a Chinese team to Nepal in February to hold a third round of discussions regarding the development of the Nepal-China Cross Border Transmission Line. A Joint Technical Group comprising representatives of the Nepal Electricity Authority and the State Grid Corporation of China had previously held two rounds of talks in China and Nepal, respectively, for the transmission line before…
by Prithvi Man Shrestha in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 23, 2023The Pension Management Office is facing a shortfall of around Rs20 billion to distribute pensions in the current fiscal year with the government allocating far less budget than required. As the government failed to increase the budgetary allocation in line with the salary increment announced through the budget, the Pension Management Office has a shortfall of resources. The government increased the basic salary of public…
by Tika R Pradhan in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 23, 2023After failing to get the support of the ruling CPN (Maoist Centre) on the elections of Speaker and deputy Speaker, the Shekhar Koirala-Gagan Thapa faction of the Nepali Congress has said the decision of the largest party to give a confidence vote to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was a mistake. As the Congress is preparing for the meeting of its Central Working Committee scheduled…
by Arjun Poudel in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 22, 2023Amid the spread of measles virus in several local units of Banke, health authorities have sought help from religious leaders, especially Muslim preachers (Maulanas), in the ongoing immunisation drive. Officials hope that vaccine coverage will be increased with the help of preachers, as people of certain religious groups trust them more than health officials. “We have been taking help from religious leaders, especially Maulanas, in the…
Report in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 21, 2023Former prime minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has accused the previous government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba of straining relations with neighbouring countries. Speaking at an orientation programme organised by the party’s Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday, Oli said the Deuba government had unnecessarily disturbed relations with India and China. But Oli did not offer any concrete proof to back his claim. “In trying to…
by Nishan Khatiwada in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 21, 2023The newcomer Rastriya Swatantra Party’s unexpected success and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party’s impressive comeback in the November elections have sharply curtailed the Madhesh-based parties’ bargaining power in ongoing power-sharing negotiations. Among the Madhesh-based parties, so far only the Janamat Party has joined the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and it too is not happy with its share in the Cabinet. Janamat Party chair CK Raut’s…
by Tika R Pradhan in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 21, 2023Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inducted 15 ministers and state ministers to his Cabinet on Wednesday, but failed to honour the constitutional spirit of inclusiveness. Now the Dahal-led Council of Ministers has 20 ministers, including the prime minister and three ministers of state, but the coalition partners failed to make it inclusive. As Dahal leads a government involving many parties, he could have asked the…
by Tika Prasad Bhatta in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 21, 2023Ishwar Shrestha, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at the Hulakdada Basic School in Hulakdada, Manthali Municipality-6, is worried about his secondary education as there are no schools in the village that provide education above the eighth grade. One has to walk at least three hours to reach the nearest secondary school in Bhangeri. Hulakdada is situated in a difficult geography; it takes several hours to go from…