Holding a discussion last Friday after unveiling the report of its sub-committee on 'Casino Monitoring and Investigation', the parliamentary committee instructed the government to reinstate workers of the then Casino Shangri-la at The Millionaire's Club & Casino and also provide them due compensation
"The committee instructs the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to reinstate workers of Casino
Shangrila at The Millionaire's Club & Casino as per the existing laws, Labor Law and report of the parliamentary committee," the decision of the committee undersigned by its Chairman Prabhu Sah reads.
A member of the committee told Republica that though the conclusion of the sub-committee led by Min Bishwokarma was supposed to be the report of casino monitoring and investigation, the committee has crossed its jurisdiction by issuing instruction about a particular casino.
"The instruction should have been for the whole industry, not just an individual casino However, pinpointing the issue of The Millionaire's Club & Casino shows that the decision was guided toward an individual case," the member said, adding that the decision should be based on the state's principle and existing laws. "The motivation of the chairman of the committee has become clear in this case."
According to the member, some of the members had suggested issuing instruction to the casino industry instead of going after an individual casino. However, ignoring the suggestion, Chairman Sah issued instruction to the government to reinstate workers at The Millionaire's Club & Casino, providing due compensation.
Speaking at the discussion, members of the committee, including Madhav Kumar Nepal, Sujata Koirala, Bal Bahadur KC, Min Bishwokarma, had said that The Millionaire's Club & Casino should be kept out of politics, stating that such interference will discourage foreign investors. "Former workers should have been retained if the license of Casino Shangrila was renewed. As it is not the case, The Millionaire's Club & Casino should not be compelled to reinstate the workers," KC told Republica.
Biswokarma also said that an individual casino company should not be singled out. "We cannot issue instruction to an individual company," he added.
The Millionaire's Club & Casino is promoted by Silver Heritage Group. The Hong Kong-based company has already announced to invest Rs 15 billion in Nepal.
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