Nepal-India talks "very satisfactory"

From Yuvaraj Ghimire

NEW DELHI, Aug 1 - Nepal and India today had wide-ranging discussions on political, developmental and security aspects at the highest political level which would form the basis for detailed talks during the next two days of Prime Minister G P Koirala’s visit.

After nearly an hour-long talks PM Koirala had with his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee, two foreign ministers Chakra Prasad Bastola and Jaswant Singh claimed that the talks at the prime ministerial level were "very satisfactory" and that solutions were found on various issues of bilateral concern.

Koirala is believed to have put forth his longish agenda, ostensibly as part of his good-will mission, which among others included the revision of 1950 Treaty and ‘entire gamut’ of the 50-year old relationship between the two countries. India’s response was supposed to be cryptic, bordering a warning that it ‘had no objections to the treaty being reviewed, but Nepal should think about the consequence’.

Koirala assured his Indian counterpart that Nepal wanted to set an example of a durable friendship for the world as to how two friendly neighbors can ‘go hand-in-hand’. But how much substance this rhetoric will bear will be clearer in the next forty eight hours of intense and multi-layer bilateral discussion.

On his first working day today PM Koirala also called on President K R Narayanan and Vice President Krishna Kant.

India’s response to Nepal’s suggestion for withdrawal of the Indian army from ‘its territory’ in Kalapani has met stiff resistance from the South Block, Indian Foreign Ministry, and an indication to that effort is believed to have been echoed at the political level talks as well.

Premier Koirala’s talks with his counterpart Vajpayee was preceded by another discussion with Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh in which Bastola was also present. The South Block is rigidly opposed to the withdrawal and maintains the hardline that ‘the issue has been hyped beyond reality and such an withdrawal will have adverse bearing on India’s security.’

PM Koirala played an emotional card that would send message back home as well. "I am at the fag end of political career. I want to set an example of bilateral friendship. After me, I want that the younger generations (leadership) should continue on the same track."

India is believed to have raised the issue of what has now become its utmost concern -- alleged presence of Pakistani intelligence network in Nepal and the ‘subversive activities’ it has launched against India. Nepal expressed its concern over Nepalese Maoists using India as a shelter and base.

Koirala appreciated India’s concern and assured that Nepal will not allow any activities from its soil, but suggested that the anti-terrorist and anti-subversive moves should be based on hard facts and on effective mechanism. The regulation of 1500-km Nepal-India border, enhanced monitoring and regulated movement are among the ways discussed which both sides are said to have favored.

PM Koirala also sought special consideration from India on movement of Nepalese goods to Indian market keeping in spirit the globalisation worldwide. More talks are likely to take place on this issue during PM Koirala’s meeting with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.

Unlike the popular expectation back home that India would be withdrawing Special Additional Duty (SAD) imposed upon Nepali goods, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha may not give it up so easily.

Nepal has been claiming that the 4.5 percent SAD on Nepalese goods, imposed by this year’s Indian budget, is against the spirit of Trade Treaty signed between these two countries in 1996.

However, Law and Justice Ministry of India has already stated that that the additional duty is in line with the spirit of the 1996 Treaty.

MPs battle in House over Aftab incidence

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, Aug 1 - Lawmakers of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and the main opposition CPN-UML physically tussled today after a former NC minister accused a senior CPN-UML leader of torching his house in March this year.

Trouble at the House of Representatives, the Lower House of Parliament, began after Mohammad Aftab Alam, who had resigned on Monday from the post of Minister of State for Forest and Soil Conservation, accused CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal of ordering his house in Rautahat to be set ablaze.

Alam had tendered his resignation after a judicial commission indicated that he was involved in a case where a CPN-UML worker was abducted and later physically abused before he was rescued.

CPN-UML has been claiming that Alam’s brother had abducted Jaya Prakash Kaushal under the protection of Alam’s office and the district forest office. The incident had taken place a day after Alam’s house was set on fire and he had been blamed for ordering the kidnapping as a revenge.

"He (Madhav Kumar Nepal) is the one behind the conspiracy to set my house on fire," Alam said in parliament today.

However, before he could finish speaking, CPN-UML lawmakers rose from their seats and at least a dozen of them charged at Alam who was speaking from the rostrum.

Security personnel managed to block the opposition’s fury and save Alam. Lawmakers from the ruling NC too got agitated and charged to the front that ended in a tussle between the lawmakers of the two sides. The security personnel moved in and put a wall between the treasury and the opposition benches to bring the situation under control.

In between the scuffle, Speaker Taranath Ranabhat was forced to call for a recess, however, the exchange of verbal abuses continued for few minutes before the members left the building.

Following the incident, NC Chief Whip Binaya Dhoj Chand condemned the acts and demanded that action be taken against the members in the opposition who were responsible for triggering today’s incident.

Madhav Kumar Nepal told reporters that the statement by Alam was a "offensive allegation" and "baseless".

Nepal demanded that the government make the report of the judiciary commission public so that the allegations against him can be cleared up. There were no injuries on either side. But the front desk of the treasury bench where the prime minister and senior ministers sit was damaged and microphones broken.

The second sitting which convened later in the evening was adjourned for the day to be resumed on Wednesday. As soon as Speaker Ranabhat called the session to order, CPN-UML lawmakers rose demanding time to speak. He instead adjourned the House saying that he was in consultation with the political parties to defuse the situation.

Both Alam and Nepal are elected to parliament from Rautahat District.

The three-member judiciary commission headed by Judge Govind Prasad Parajuli had ruled that it could not be said that the abduction had taken place without the direction, protection, support and cooperation of Alam.

This is the second time in as many years that the treasury and the opposition members have clashed in parliament.

On September 18, 1998, lawmakers from the CPN-UML exchanged physical blows with members of NC and CPN-ML (a breakaway group of the CPN-UML) over the passage of the Local Self-Governance Bill 1998.

CPN-ML was pushing for the Bill for early passage before the District Development Committee Election while CPN-UML had wanted to delay the Bill. The episode ended with CPN-UML calling to impeach Ram Chandra Poudel, who was the Speaker then.

Though Poudel was cleared of the charges the episode put a dent and question mark on the Speaker’s role as the leader of the House and a member of a political party.il

Joshi defends Citizenship Bill

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 1 - Home Minister Govinda Raj Joshi today rejected the possibility of any manipulation of the Bill brought to make sixth amendment to the Citizenship Act-1963 in order to give citizenship certificate to foreign nationals.

"A lot of confusion has been created due to the misinterpretation of the Bill," said Joshi at a press meet organised at his office today. "The interpretations have come without detailed study of the provisions the Bill has made," he said.

According to Joshi, the provision of "severe punishments" in the Bill would discourage those seeking Nepali citizenship illegally and those issuing them. "This would, in fact, reduce the trend of acquiring citizenship by illegal means," said Joshi.

Under the new provision of the Bill, any person can acquire a Nepali citizenship on the basis of descent. The father of the

person does not necessarily have to hold a Nepali citizenship. "This provision has been made to make sure that all the genuine citizens get a certificate," Joshi said. The existing law grants citizenship mainly on the basis of the father’s citizenship.

Referring to the rejection the Bill faced at the Upper House, Joshi said that it was sent back without any suggestions and without being specific about the points of contention to oppose the Bill. Joshi said that since no suggestion came from the Upper House and because it had been discussed over "sixteen times" in the State Affairs Committee there was no need for such a discussion.

"At one time it was passed unanimously and at the next time they were opposing the Bill," said Joshi. "There could have been further discussions but since nobody opposed the Bill for the provisions it had and no point of contention was put forth the need of discussion became unnecessary."

The Bill was passed from the House of Representatives last Wednesday by the ruling Nepali Congress after it was rejected "without any suggestions" from the National Assembly amidst boycotting by the main opposition CPN-UML and other opposition parties -- Rastriya Prajatantra Party, United People’s Front, National People’s Front and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party.

The passed Bill will get the status of law after it gets the Royal assent.

Earlier, on June 11, the Bill -- first one to be adopted by the on-going session of the Parliament -- had been passed unanimously. For the first time a Bill faced an outright rejection at the National Assembly two days later where a majority of the legislators opposed it saying that it would pose dire consequences given the huge inflow of refugees from countries like Bhutan and migrants from India.

Before sending the Bill to the House of Representatives, the Bill had been passed "unanimously" by State Affairs Committee of the Parliament after repeated discussions over it.

UML cuts off talks with govt

KATHMANDU, Aug 1 (PR) - The main opposition CPN-UML today said that it will not sit for anymore talks with the government given the fact that the talks were going "futile and it was not reaching any point of understanding or making a concrete decision."

The opposition had only recently said that the government was not taking the five-month long talks "seriously". "The government’s non-responsive attitude towards our demands just made the talks

futile," said CPN-UML General Secretary and leader of the opposition Madhav Kumar Nepal at a press conference today. "How can the talks between the government and opposition go on for more than five months?"

KP Oli, the deputy leader of the Parliamentary Party committee said that the talks cannot go ahead with the committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel. The five-member committee headed by Poudel to seek understanding with the opposition parties had been formed during the former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s government.

Nepal said that the party would soon take to the street if the government fails to respond to the concerns raised by the main opposition. "We are being forced to take to the streets," said Nepal. "We would announce our protest programmes at a suitable time."

The opposition has been protesting the "congressisation of administration" as well as "admission of only congress workers in programmes like Women Emancipation, Bishweshor with the Poor and Ganeshman Peace Campaign."

Govt intends to introduce University Act

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 1 - The government intends to bring University Act in order to monitor universities.

"The universities and their activities need to be regulated. They are going out of track, and this makes the act even more essential," said State Minister for Education and Sports Dilendra Prasad Badu here today.

"Pokhara and Purbanchal Universities were established to decentralize educational institutions and to concentrate them in their respective regions," said Badu. "They have started giving affiliation to institutions in the capital, which just makes the attempt to decentralise educational institutions futile."

"We are going to merge Prithvi Narayan Campus to Pokhara University and Mahendra Morang to Purbanchal University," Badu said at a programme organised to mark the silver jubilee year of Public Administration Campus (PAC).

The concept of multiple universities emerged after the restoration of democracy. The primary aim of this was to decentralize educational institutions of higher studies from the capital, speakers at the programme said. "PAC itself is fearing from decentralization," said Dr Kundan Dutta Koirala, Dean of Faculty of Education at TU.

"We want the government to involve us in the process of administrative reform which is one the government’s three agendas," said Dr Gobinda Dhakal, Head of Central Department of Public Administration. "Private institutions should be licensed to start Master Degree in public administration course."

President of Nepal Professors’ Association Bhimsen Das Amatya urged to transform Pokhara and Purbanchal Universities to residential, which restricts them from giving affiliations.

Incessant rainfall disrupts normal life

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 1 - After a pause for few days, incessant rain across various parts of the country has disrupted normal life since Saturday.

Highways have been badly hit by the continuous rainfalls. Landslides triggered by incessant rain has obstructed traffic on Prithvi Highway at Aaina Pahara near Charaudi and Aanbu Khaireni, Tanahun today. Transportation has come to a standstill by the landslides.

At the initiative of local police, two bulldozers were deployed to clear off debris from the road. The road at Aaina Pahara opened later in the noon. Transportation is still disrupted at Charaudi, the police said.

Similarly, Kohalpur-Surkhet section of Ratna Highway has been crippled due to landslides at various place triggered by the incessant rain since last night.

According to our Kailali based reporter, floods in Karnali and Mohana rivers triggered by incessant rain since Saturday has submerged scores of houses and inundated hundred of bighas of land across various parts of the district.

Forty-three houses have been submerged in Narayanpur Village Development Committee of Kailali while 15 bighas of crop field has been spoilt, said Amar Saud, a local PCO operator.

Likewise, 23 houses across wards 1,2,3 and 9 of Dhansingh VDC have suffered inundation due to the floods in Karnali river, according to the locals. Almost 300 bighas of land in the two VDCs have been affected.

According to Sub-inspector at Majani Police Post in the district Mahendra Singh Rathaur, transportation between Sukkhada and Khailada VDCs of the district have been crippled due to severe inundation of Kudi, section of the strategic route between the two VDCs. Also, the road which joins Lalbojhi village nearby with Majani is paralysed by the recent rainfalls, he added.

Similarly, most parts of the district headquarters Dhangadi have been covered with rain water. Also, some 20 bighas of land in Fulbari VDC is inundated.

A sudden flood on Hadiya Khola at Budhabare Village development Committee on late Saturday swept away main water pipe line cutting off water supplies to some seven thousands people in the VDC, said locals.

A total of 100 metres of pine line was swept away from wards 2 and 6 of the VDC. The water supply is yet to be restored in the VDC, according to our Jhapa based reporter.

Air service and other services related to it are almost paralysed. "There used to be up to 100 plane movements per day during favourable seasons at the Airport," said Devendra K.C., Air Traffic Control Officer at Pokhara Airport. "There used to at least 35-40 movements in the past days but there was only five movements today due to bad weather."

Indian activist for tough steps against Kamaiya employers

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Aug 1 - Though he is saffron-clad and called a swami, he is not the real one. He is a crusader, a liberator fighting against the social ills. He is one of the major men credited with the emancipation of bonded labourers in India.

Swami Agnivesh was born Vepa Shyam Rao in a Telugu-speaking family in a village that is now in the present state of Orissa in India around 1940.

In his book published in 1974, Vaidik Samajvad (Vedic Socialism) Swami Agnivesh has written "hair-raising descriptions of the suffering of India’s poor".

So, it was no surprise when late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi got him arrested during the Emergency in 1974. Then Gandhi was uprooted in the 1977 general elections and Swami Agnivesh was elected to the assembly of the state of Haryana.

After a brief stint as state education minister in Haryana, Swami says he was disillusioned with politics.

It was in early 1980s that Swami found a cause that occupies him even today. He began to publicly denounce bonded labour. Finding that the government was not acting on its own laws against this slave trade, Agnivesh founded Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Liberation Front).

The "messiah" of Indian bandhua mazdoor (bonded labourers) was in Nepal for a few days. Though he was here with a different mission, he did not miss to raise loud voice in the support of recently liberated Kamaiyas of the country.

Not only he spoke to The Kathmandu Post about the Kamaiyas’ fate after their official liberation, but he also offered strong suggestions to the government and others to safeguard the interest of Kamaiyas.

Swami Agnivesh firmly suggests that all the land-lords and farmers who kept bonded labourers should be jailed immediately. "These landlords have committed a crime of employing the helpless people as slaves," he says.

As for the sauki (loan), Swami Agnivesh says, "Not only it should be abolished but people keeping human slaves just for a few thousand of rupees should be prosecuted immediately, as they did in India."

In India, any labourer not receiving the minimum daily wage automatically becomes a bonded labourer. And, once proved as bonded labourers they are entitled to receive Rs 20,000 worth of income generating assets like land, housing, seeds and plough, among others.

If a landlord is found to possess land in excess of the stipulated land ceiling, then the surplus land is seized and distributed among the bonded labourers employed by him.

For Nepal, Swami suggests there should be a law that clearly defines Kamaiyas. "First of all, the government should define who is a bonded labourer," he says. "Only then can rules and laws for their emancipation be fruitful."

"As a step towards their rehabilitation, the Kamaiyas should be given land and then bank loans for agricultural implements and other needs," added Swami Agnivesh citing an example, "if they are good at brick-making, then they should be helped in forming cooperatives for brick kilns."

Swami Agnivesh says a national minimum wage should be fixed by the government. "The labours’ wage should be at least equal to that drawn by lower class employees in the government," he says.

"This should be supplemented by land reforms," he adds. In his opinion, these are foremost pre-requisites in any democracy.