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October, 2004 |
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Political |
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While 50 Businesses were Closed Immediately after completing 100 days in the office, Prime Minis ter Deuba rushed to New Delhi while the Maoists ordered 35 more business units to shut down in addition to the 11 that were already closed due to their similar earlier order. Deuba came back from Delhi with assurance of Indian assistance to combat the Maoists. Now the business units have resumed operation after a negotiation was hammered out with intermediation by human rights activists. But this test of their power to cripple the economy must have boosted the morale of the Maoists, whose strength was believed to be in the wane in the recent months. According to the analysts, Deuba’s
Delhi rush was to outsmart the king who was already scheduled to visit
the Indian capital sometime before Dashain festival. As Deuba saw that
the king was going to get important help to the country, he wanted to
get the credit himself by going there earlier. However, nothing so
significant outcome was announced at the 25-point press communiqué
issued at the end of the visit. All it contained was regular diplomatic
verbiage. Still, it is regarded as a significant visit in that during
this junket of Deuba India preempted the possibility of UN mediation in
resolving the Maoist crisis in Nepal, thus maintaining its grip in the
affairs of what it regards as its backyard. Now the country is waiting eagerly for
the royal visit to the southern neighbour to see what new developments
it would cause in the relations between the two countries as well as on
the Maoist issue. Meanwhile, the government was challenged
by Maoist Supremo Prachanda by firing a volley of six questions which he
said must be answered satisfactorily before he would order Maoist
representatives to sit for peace talks. Though the government issued a
statement claiming to have answered all the six questions in a single
paragraph, it is yet to be seen if the Maoist Supremo would find it
satisfactory. In another development of September, the
Supreme Court quashed the writs by former prime minister and President
of Nepali Congress Girija Prasad Koirala and some high level leaders of
his party against summons to them by the anti-corruption body Commission
for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). With this the CIAA
has received court permission to go ahead with its actions against
Koirala and his friends. Koirala on his part declared that he will in no
way go to the CIAA to make the depositions. He would rather go to the
jail, as he was quoted by the press as his comment immediately after the
Supreme Court verdict was announced. He also termed the verdict of the
apex court as dictated by the Royal Palace. Koirala will be the highest ranking
political figure to face CIAA after Chiranjibi Wagle. The latter is
waiting a hearing on his writ against a verdict of the Special Court
which fined him nearly Rs. 273 million for illegally amassing property. Meanwhile, a high level committee set up
to suggest administrative reforms submitted a set of recommendations
which suggests, among others, to maintain the number of civil servants
at 80,000 by reducing it from present 100,000 plus and to increase the
salaries to the incumbents. It also recommended reserving seats in the
civil service for the women, dalits and janajatis at the rate of 20%,
10% and 10% of the new openings. And the government is reported to have
approved the plan to reserve the seats for these categories. The
government has also decided to grant 11 days of leave to the male
employees when their wives deliver babies. In the other development under the anti-corruption drive, Achuyut Krishna Kharel, one of the three former Inspector Generals (IGs) of police indicted by CIAA, surrendered to the Special Court and was released on bail. Also Motilal Bohara, the other former IG has surrendered to the court while the third one, Pradeep SJB Rana, is still absconding. |
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