Shrestha, who held portfolio of deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the Baburam Bhattarai-led government, said he was dismayed to see that the current election government has virtually taken no initiatives in this regard. [break]
“Then cabinet had formally forwarded the code of conduct for endorsement. I am dissatisfied that the current government has done nothing about it,” he told to a select group of media persons at his residence in Hattiban on Monday.
Shrestha demanded that the Khil Raj Regmi-led poll government immediately endorse the code of conduct and bring it into implementation. “We had held a series of discussions at the foreign ministry before finalizing the code of conduct. Enforcement of the code of conduct will help manage meetings between foreign dignitaries and our government counterparts, political leaders and others,” he told Republica.
Shrestha also expressed strong dissatisfaction over the government´s failure to direct Indian Embassy in Kathmandu to shut down its “illegally operated” field office in Biratnagar. “The foreign ministry had sent a letter to the embassy with clear instructions to shut down the office. Even Indian envoy had assured me that they would do the needful,” he further said.
The office had been set up following the massive Koshi floods in 2008 to facilitate vehicular movement through Indian territories when a section of the road along the east-west highway was swept away by the flood. The office was later relocated to Biratnagar without the government´s knowledge.
While asking the government to write the Indian embassy to immediately shut down the office, Shrestha said he had also raised this issue during a meeting of the High Level Political Committee (HLPC). “The illegally operated office should be closed without delay. I want to see the government taking necessary steps in this regard,” he said.
During his term as the Minister for Local Development, Shrestha had also taken initiatives to streamline foreign aid and bring all foreign aid under the government´s budgetary system. “A three-point policy on foreign aid was introduced jointly by the ministry of foreign affairs, ministry of finance and the ministry of local development. But the current government has not taken any steps regarding the issue,” he added.
´Announce poll date without delay´
Shrestha also urged the government to announce fresh election for the second or third week of November.
“Questions will be raised over the relevance of the current government if it failed to announce date for fresh election anytime soon,” he said.
He also expressed surprise over the government´s reluctance in making concrete progress toward holding fresh election. “Since there is almost no possibility of holding election by June, it is better to announce fresh date for second or the third week of November,” he added.
Shrestha also asked the agitating Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist and Upendra Yadav-led Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Nepal to join the High Level Political Committee. “This will help ensure election on time,” he added.
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