Court Orders Congress Candidate Binita Khadka Investigated Without Custody

Vote counting for posts below president at Nepali Congress's 15th general convention was still going on Monday, October 12, Ekantipur and Nepal Press reported.

Nepali Congress, Nepal's main opposition party, was counting ballots cast at 23 locations for posts below president, Ekantipur reported. For joint general secretary in the open category, Ramhari Khatiwada led with 1,586 votes against 1,128 for Ajay Babu Shiwakoti out of 3,586 counted, Nepal Press reported. None of the counts were final.

In the joint general secretary race reserved for women, Pratima Gautam led with 2,022 votes to 614 for Nanumaya Bastola out of 2,789 counted, the party's Central Election Committee said, according to DC Nepal. In the public relations committee's women's category, Chanda Adhikari led with 1,880 votes of 3,000 counted, ahead of Sita Sapkota Ghimire with 1,358, Rabina Thapa with 1,137, Nirmala Thapa Magar with 990 and Nanda Kumari Neupane with 374, DC Nepal reported. For the joint general secretary seat set aside for indigenous peoples, Bahadur Singh Lama Tamang led with 380 votes of 900 counted, ahead of Om Bahadur Gharti Magar with 217, Taraman Gurung with 118, Dilman Pakhrin with 74 and Prashant Man Singh Maske with 28, Nepal Press reported.

Shyam Krishna Khadgi, who lost the presidency to Gagan Thapa by 6,584 votes to 375 in results the party's Central Election Committee released late on Friday, October 9, IANS reported, said it was time to unite and prepare for the next election, Ekantipur reported. Ratopati reported that Ranjit Karna, who also lost his race at the convention, called for unity and cooperation, though the report did not say which post Karna had contested. Speaking in Pokhara on Monday at a memorial event for former assistant minister Prakash Bahadur Gurung, Thapa said leaders and workers who had distanced themselves from the party needed to return, Nagarik News reported.

The Kathmandu District Court separately ordered that Binita Khadka, a Nepali Congress candidate for the central committee, be investigated without being held in custody, in a case involving alleged fraud over promised caregiver jobs in Israel, OnlineKhabar English reported. The order, from a bench of Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka, said statements from other defendants did not implicate Khadka and that victims' complaints contained no detail showing she took money or was involved, OnlineKhabar and DC Nepal reported. Nepal Police's Central Investigation Bureau, known as the CIB, has arrested five people in the case, including Khadka, Nepali Congress leader Bharat Prasad Chaulagain, Balika Shiwakoti of Dolakha, Gyan Bahadur Karki and Shivaram Shrestha, DC Nepal reported. Police first investigated the case as fraud, then widened the investigation to organised crime after finding more people involved and signs the scheme was organised, DC Nepal and OnlineKhabar reported.

What the coverage missed

Thapa's presidency was never in doubt on Monday. He won it on results released late on Friday, October 9 by 6,584 votes to 375, a margin Kathmandu Post put at 6,209 votes. The bigger story inside Congress is a looming split. Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's faction has rejected the Thapa led convention's legitimacy and is holding its own rival convention from December 7 to 9, claiming to be the real Nepali Congress, Kathmandu Post reported. The Supreme Court is still reviewing which faction is legitimate, even after recognising Thapa's side in April, the newspaper reported. The April ruling stays in force while the review runs, Kathmandu Post reported.

The Israel case also carries a detail missing from Monday's coverage. Some of those arrested allegedly told victims they had ties to an adviser to the prime minister and could speed up their departure, OnlineKhabar reported. The court found nothing in the complaints showing Khadka took money or was involved, OnlineKhabar reported. Complaints filed with the CIB allege the scheme took more than Rs 25 million, about $188,000, from victims, OnlineKhabar reported.

What we still do not know

Which post Ranjit Karna contested and lost. The Central Election Committee or Ratopati could clarify.

What happens to this week's convention results if the Supreme Court rules against the Thapa led committee's legitimacy. The Supreme Court or the Election Commission could answer.

How many victims have filed complaints in the Israel case, and whether any money has been recovered. The CIB could answer.