WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 312 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 26.3 C -3.5 C Saturday, January 09, 2021 | 25-09-2077 Biratnagar Jumla Oli throws caution to the wind as he addresses a mass gathering Once again ignoring the fact that his December 20 move is sub judice in court, Oli says the House cannot be restored and urges all to prepare for elections. ANIL GIRI winds. He flew to Dhangadhi, a town KATHMANDU, JAN 8 in the far west, to address a mass gath- ering as if he was on an election cam- After dissolving the House of paign. While addressing the pro- Representatives on December 20, KP gramme, Oli said the scheduled elec- Sharma Oli, who is now reduced to the tions will happen and there is no status of caretaker prime minister, chance of revival of the House. has thrown the country into a political “I urge all those who are opposing chaos and uncertainty. the House dissolution to read the con- His House dissolution move imme- stitution,” said Oli. “Some people did diately led to a split in his Nepal not allow me to work. I could not work Communist Party, with the other fac- for the nation. So I decided to go for a tion led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and fresh mandate.” Madhav Kumar Nepal declaring a war Observers say Oli seems to have on him. Both the factions of the party completely lost the plot and is making have been engaged in a blame game— illogical statements, while ignoring and on most occasions, Oli has turned his primary responsibility. the conversation nasty and ugly. “The prime minister should focus Since December 20, Oli at a series of on his primary duty—that is govern- programmes has resorted to vitupera- ance. And he is not doing that,” said tion and insults while justifying his Krishna Pokhrel, a professor of politi- POST PHOTO: SANJOG MANANDHAR House dissolution move. cal science. “What he is doing is Before and after pictures of the Kathmandu valley seen from Halchowk. On the left, the Valley is seen covered in a thick layer of smog on Tuesday afternoon. On the right, the Valley has much Amid all this, Oli seems to have address a function believed to have cleaner air on Friday afternoon. On Monday, Kathmandu was reported to be the most polluted city in the world. completely forgotten the fact that as been attended by his followers. This is the executive he still has a job to do— absolutely uncalled for.” for the people and the country. In Oli’s After dissolving the House, Oli has Nepal, governance had never been a declared snap polls for April 30 and priority and since he fell out with his May 10. Seven held from Oli’s rivals in his party, governance has His House dissolution move has Concerns raised about foreign investment in totally taken a back seat. been described by constitutional On Friday, Oli, who has barely experts as extra-constitutional, as the event for wearing stepped out of Baluwatar in the last 10 constitution does not allow a majority agriculture, but it is needed, stakeholders say months given the pandemic and his prime minister to dissolve the House. t-shirts with slogans health condition, threw caution to the >> Continued on page 2 Amid fears that small farmers could be hit hard, officials demanding justice say 75 percent of such production must be exported and for Nirmala Pant the technology that will come along will be helpful. People who attended the function say they were not allowed to wear anything black, even caps or masks. MOHAN BUDHAAIR DHANGADHI, JAN 8 Police on Friday arrested seven people in Dhangadhi for wearing t-shirts with slogans demanding justice for Nirmala Pant, receiving widespread criticism from various quarters. Pant, a 13-year-old girl from Kanchanpur, was raped and murdered in July 2018. Police are yet to find the perpetrator(s) of the heinous crime. Police rounded up the seven per- sons from a programme which was being addressed by Prime Minister KP POST FILE PHOTO Sharma Oli. The programme was Dhankuta farmers grow cabbage, primarily for export to India. organised by the Nepal Communist Party (Oli faction). SANGAM PRASAIN & KRISHANA PRASAIN would narrow the country’s balloon- The seven persons who were arrest- KATHMANDU, JAN 8 ing trade deficit. ed by police were wearing t-shirts “But Nepal’s agriculture sector with the slogan “‘Where is Nirmala In December 2017, the National needs a massive investment to meet Pant’s rapist?”. Planning Commission held a discus- the export demand. Our agriculture DSP Pratik Bista, who is also the sion with Qatari officials on short- based on traditional methods cannot spokesperson for Kailali District and medium-term opportunities to even feed our population,” said an Police Office, confirmed the arrests. export for Nepali agricultural pro- official at the ministry who did not “Seven individuals have been duce to Qatar as countries of the Gulf wish to be named. arrested due to security concerns,” Cooperation Council imposed a block- “Nepal’s agriculture needs a drastic said Bista. “They have been detained ade on the natural gas-rich nation. shift from traditional farming to for questioning.” The Qatari government had asked mechanisation. And for this foreign He, however, did not explain how Nepal whether it can export organic investment is necessary.” wearing t-shirts with slogans demand- foods--particularly green vegetables But now the government has decid- ing justice for a girl who was raped and dairy products--on a long term ed to open Nepal’s agriculture sec- and murdered more than two and a basis that would be worth over $2 bil- tor—primary production—for foreign half years ago posed a security threat. lion annually. direct investment by allowing 100 per- Journalists, activists and others The planning commission, the apex cent of investment. At present foreign took to social media to criticise the Oli body that frames the government’s investment is allowed only in process- administration for violating people’s development policies and pro- ing of farm products. fundamental rights guaranteed by the grammes, was just clueless about the Ironically, the decision comes as the constitution. “Dear Prime Minister, Qatari government’s proposal as there blockade on Qatar has been lifted. have you dissolved Article 17(2) of the is no commercial farming in Nepal at “The move [allowing FDI in agricul- fundamental rights which guarantee such a scale. ture] is aimed at creating a positive freedom to assemble peacefully?” Subsequently, the Ministry of impact on export trade,” said Narayan Ameet Dhakal, editor-in-chief of Agriculture and Livestock Prasad Regmi, joint-secretary at Setopati, a digital news portal, wrote Development decided to hold talks Ministry of Industry, Commerce and on Twitter. “If not, why were youths with private traders and producers Supplies. wearing t-shirts with the slogan whether they could meet some of the “It will help increase agricultural ‘Where is Nirmala Pant’s rapist?’ demand. production, enhance productivity arrested from your programme?” There is where the matter rested: on through the latest technology in >> Continued on page 2 the table. Nepal’s agriculture sector that has The demand for organic vege- underperformed despite a good geo- tables and spices in the Gulf graphical location,” Regmi said. Cooperation Council countries— Sections of the agriculture sector Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, have already opposed the government Saudi Arabia and the United decision. Arab Emirates—as well as India On Tuesday Nepal Dairy and Bangladesh is so high that it Association, Dairy Industry cannot be met by small ship- Association, Central Livestock ments, according to an official at Rearing Association, Nepal Fisheries the ministry. Association and Central Dairy Officials estimate that Nepal Producers Association jointly organ- has the potential to export ised a press meet criticising the gov- agriculture products worth over ernment’s unilateral move. $5 billion annually and this >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K SATURDAY, JANUARY 09, 2021 | 02 NATIONAL Oli throws caution to the wind ... Women hit by pandemic, >> Continued from page 1 prepare for elections. gatherings. But even if the constitution allowed Experts on constitutional affairs “He was not even going to his office it, as per parliamentary practices, he last week told the Post that Oli’s such in Singha Durbar,” said Pun, who is should have resigned—only to be des- claims were objectionable as he was currently with the Nepal Communist ignated to oversee elections as a care- speaking on a matter that is sub judice Party (Dahal-Nepal faction), insinuat- domestic violence at high taker prime minister. He has not in court despite him being a party to ing that Oli never had any interest in resigned. On top of that, Oli’s House the case. governance. dissolution move has been contested Oli’s close confidante Subas Oli held most of his Cabinet meet- in the court of law. Until the court Nembang has so far not spoken a word ings over the past year from Baluwatar. passes a final verdict, it’s unclear if on Oli’s move, saying that the case is The reasons given were his health risk of trafficking the country has headed for the polls. If sub judice and that the constitution condition and the Covid-19 pandemic. the court overturns Oli’s decision and “does not allow” him to speak on a Oli underwent his second kidney restores the House, there will be no matter being dealt with by the court.