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Finance Minister Barshaman Pun has called on the Government of Russia to invest in Nepal's hydropower generation and chemical fertilizer manufacturing.

He said so during a meeting with Russia's Ambassador to Nepal, Aleksei Novikov, who visited the minister to congratulate him on his recent appointment to the post, according to the Minister's Secretariat. 

"We have guaranteed an international market for consumption of power generated in the country. Nepal's hydropower sector is a suitable area for investment for the international community," the minister said, sharing about the government policy to open a chemical fertilizer factory within the country. "If Russia is interested in investing in it, we are ready to enable an atmosphere towards this end," he said. 

Stating about the government's decision of hosting the Nepal Investment Summit on April 28-29, the minister urged the Russian ambassador to encourage more and more investors from his country to join the event.

In response, the ambassador welcomed the minister's proposal, pledging to talk with investors in Russia about the matter. He said that geopolitically, Nepal presents a highly potential and positive zone for Russian investment.

According to the ambassador, a delegation from the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be visiting Nepal on Thursday to assess potential areas for investment through the Nepal Investment Summit.

The delegation will engage in discussions with government officials, the representatives of Investment Board Nepal and the private sector.

In the meeting, the minister expressed concerns about the reports of enrollment of Nepali youths in the Russian Army sans a bilateral agreement, calling on the Russian government to facilitate the safe return of those Nepali recruited in the Russian military forces.

The minister also drew the attention of Russia to enable an atmosphere for sending the bodies of those Nepali reportedly killed in the Russia-Ukraine War to home, providing treatment facilities to the injured and compensations to the bereaved families.

According to the minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already made it clear that Nepal has no policy of sending its citizens to join the Russian Army, but Nepali citizens who reached there to join the army force through various channels. The matter is a grave concern of the Nepal Government and the Nepali citizens as well. "I, through you, urge the Russian government to enable an atmosphere for the safe arrival of Nepali who are in the Russian force to get back home."

In response, the ambassador clarified that the Nepal Government bears no responsibility for the recruitment of Nepali in the Russian army. He argued that neither has the Russian government compelled them for recruitment. According to him, Nepalis who reach there via illegal routes, including India and Dubai, do so voluntarily.

Furthermore, he informed the minister that despite Russia's efforts to repatriate all Nepali individuals in its military, there have been reports of reluctance among many Nepalis towards this idea.

He also shared with the minister about ongoing preparations on the part of the Russian government to negotiate the release of Nepali citizens held captive by Ukrainian forces through an exchange involving Ukrainian military personnel under the control of the Russian Army.

Nepali Congress has demanded formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the cooperative fraud.

Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives, lawmaker Ramhari Khatiwada accused the government of being scared of forming a parliamentary committee.

He objected that the government, which could not form a parliamentary committee, had mentioned in its Common Minimum Program of forming various commissions.

“We heard the Common Minimum Program of the government. It has been mentioned that various commissions will be formed. What kind of commission will the government form when it expresses its reluctance to form a parliamentary committee of cooperative fraud,” he questioned.

He claimed that the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government has become unsuccessful in every sector.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has directed the district administration officers across the country to set up facilitation desks to promptly receive and address the complaints, petitions and grievances of usury victims.

Home Ministry's spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai informed that the directive was issued to establish facilitation desks in line with the four-point agreement signed on March 11 between the Ministry and the usury victims struggle committee.

The district administration offices have been directed to set up a facilitation desk to deal with the matter by assigning responsibility to the officer-level employees to immediately hear the complaints, petitions and grievances related to usury and make public the details of the employees deployed at the desk (name, post, email, contact number and other means of contact) on the website of the office.

Similarly, section officer at the Ministry of Home Affairs Chiranjivi GM has been appointed the contact person of the Ministry to coordinate with the DAOs and other agencies to address the complaints of the usury victims.

For complaints related to usury (improper transactions), one can contact mobile number: 9851360603 (viber, WhatsApp message), email: [email protected] and toll-free number 1112. 

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has vowed not to compromise with anyone to establish and uphold good governance. Responding to the concerns raised by lawmakers in Tuesday’s House of Representatives (HoR) meeting, Dahal said anyone found involved in any wrongdoing will not be spared. “Nothing will prevent the government from taking action against the individuals found guilty of wrongdoing,” he said. 

The prime minister said that his government has resolved to promote good governance by investigating large corruption scams, gold smuggling incidents and public land grabbing cases, among other crimes. “The government will scale up its moves against such illicit activities,” he added.

On the queries raised by the opposition lawmakers regarding the appointment of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane as the deputy prime minister and home minister despite allegations of misappropriation of cooperative funds, the prime minister said that the investigation thus far suggests “no link between Lamichhane and the cooperative’s board of directors, account committee, or loan committee. “There is no proof of him being an employee of the cooperative or holding any institutional roles. Additionally, there are no ongoing legal proceedings against him,” Dahal said. 

He added that the cooperative loan issued in Lamichhane’s name has been repaid, and the police too have briefed the government that there is no need for further investigation in the case. The major opposition, Nepali Congress, has been critical of Lamichhane’s ministerial appointment, citing that he is under investigation for his alleged involvement in  misappropriation of cooperative funds.  

NC wants House panel to look into Lamichhane’s case 

The Nepali Congress is not satisfied with Prime Minister Dahal’s clarification regarding Home Minister Lamichhane’s alleged role in a fund misappropriation case and have demanded for a special House committee to look into the matter. Earlier, the prime minister had told the House that appointing Lamichhane as the deputy prime minister and home minister would not constitute a conflict of interest as the investigation has already exonerated Lamichhane.  

Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak contended in Tuesday’s parliament meeting that there is enough evidence to suggest that Home Minister Lamichhane was directly involved in misappropriation of funds from Pokhara-based Surya Darshan Cooperatives. 

“The prime minister said that there is no evidence, but we say there is. Let us create an environment for a fair investigation into this case. We call for the formation of an investigation committee in the parliament itself to look into this case,” Lekhak demanded before the House. He also demanded that Home Minister Lamichhane step down on moral grounds and cooperate in the investigation. 

Meanwhile, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has said that some forces are actively trying to defame Home Minister Lamichhane by demanding his resignation. Speaking at a press meet in Dhangadhi on Tuesday, Oli claimed that Lamichhane has no connection with the cooperatives accused of misappropriating funds. “If we go after every complaint against ministers or parliamentarians, there might arise a situation when all positions of minister and parliamentarians would be vacant,” he said.