Nepal: Calls to probe Maoist cantonment scam growing

Kathmandu [Nepal], May 17 : Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's Maoist party has been accused of misusing funds meant for combatants resulting in calls to probe Maoist cantonment scam, reported Kathmandu Post.

The case dates back to 2007 when the then government had decided to provide Rs 5,000 a month to as many as 19,602 former Maoist combatants camped in seven cantonments and 21 satellite camps set up across the country.

However, in 2010, 4,008 combatants were disqualified for being either underage or late recruits and the distribution of money to former rebels courted controversy as Maoist leaders allegedly pocketed a big chunk of the fund, reported Kathmandu Post.

As per the provision, the payment was to be continued until the time the combatants were either integrated into security agencies or chose volunteer retirement.

In 2013, of the total 19,602 combatants registered by the United Nations Mission to Nepal (UNMIN), 1,460 were integrated into Nepal Army while some others chose a rehabilitation package offered by the government, reported Kathmandu Post.

Even within the Maoist Centre's rank and file, dissatisfaction is palpable over the alleged corruption, in which the party leadership had allegedly misused a large amount of money collected from the combatants.

The complaint also charged the leaders with embezzling the amount meant to procure rations for the combatants. In the complaint, the Youth Association Nepal, UML's youth wing, had accused the Maoist leadership of misusing at least Rs 4 billion.

Notably, the Office of the Auditor General had cleared the budget allocated for cantonment operation and management including the salary and allowances of former Maoist combatants.

Meanwhile, other parties have been accusing the then Maoist leadership and top commanders of profiteering from the funds that should have gone to the combatants.

They were also accused of accepting salaries and allowances on behalf of thousands of combatants who had already left the cantonments, reported Kathmandu Post.

Leaders from rival parties claimed that the Dahal-led government will not undertake the probe as that would put him in a difficult situation.

"Both the prime minister and Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba could be indicted in the cantonment case," said Raghuji Pant, a standing committee member of CPN-UML. "I don't think this government will probe it."

The main opposition party UML, through its three-day central committee meeting that concluded Saturday, demanded that the government investigate all corruption cases, including the one related to cantonment funds.

However, the Maoist-led government and leaders of the Maoist Centre have so far been tight-lipped on the issue, reported Kathmandu Post.

In a recent Facebook post, Subodh Serpali, the chair of the Young Communist League (YCL), the youth wing of the Maoist Centre, said that as the party keeps facing accusations every now and then, the party leadership should settle the issue.

He added that if any of the commanders are found guilty, the YCL will hand them over to the government and help the authorities take necessary action, reported Kathmandu Post.