Sujata Koirala And He Forceful Deeds
Had Girija Prasad Koirala managed to survive another five years Nepal would have a woman prime minister as the four
South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lankan have had. Girija had had to spend most of his
time fighting against his opponents in the government and in his own party for his survival. So, he did not have much
time left for making his daughter a prime minister after he had remained at the helm of his party and the government.
However, he had almost did it grooming his daughter Sujata Koirala to an heir to his political legacy and making her
deputy prime minister in the coalition government of Madhav Nepal in his later years but the death had cut his life
short and stopped him advancing Sujata in the political arena any further. Then Sujata has been facing the formidable
challenges from the leaders her father had made. Sujata’s own fault of heavily leaning to India and her transparent
corrupt actions has certainly not helped her in inheriting her father’s legacy in the Nepalese politics in the coming
days.
In the second week of October of 2009, Sujata Koirala becomes the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government headed by the
unelected Prime Minister Madhav Nepal. Parliamentary Party Leader of NC Ram Chandra Poudel has told Madhav Nepal in
public that his party has not made any decision on making Sujata Deputy Prime Minister. Another senior leader of the
same party and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has also opposed Madhav Nepal promoting Sujata to the deputy
prime minister. However, Madhav Nepal has to save him from getting ejected from the office. Father Koirala has given
Madhav Nepal the option to either stay on in the office promoting Sujata or go out of the office denying her the
promotion she has been asking so long.
Sujata has refused to join the team of Prime Minister Madhav Nepal in his first official visit to India as a Prime
Minister in the second week of August 2009 because Madhav Nepal has not promoted her, yet. In fact, as Foreign Minister,
Sujata has not only to accompany the prime minister but also has needed to lead an advance team to make necessary
arrangements for the visit of the prime minister but she has simply ignored everything. Later, in the clarification
given to the members of her party why she has not join the prime minister team’ visiting India, Acting President of NC
Sushil Koirala has told them, Sujata has been sick, so she could not join Madhav Nepal in visiting India.
On August 19, 2009, members of the central working committee of NC in the meeting have drawn the attention of President
of NC Girija Prasad Koirala to the reason for Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala not being on the prime ministerial team to
visit India and to her demand for the deputy prime ministerial portfolio without informing the party. However, Acting
President Sushil Koirala has said to the members that Sujata could not join the Madhav Nepal’s team for the health
reason. Central working committee members have cautioned the party president and acting president that the reason for
Sujata not joining the prime minister’s team should not be the reason for tearing down the coalition government; then
they have demanded explanations from Sujata for bargaining for the position of the deputy prime minister without the
consent of the party. At that time, Girija Prasad Koirala has reached the position of firing Madhav Nepal and forming a
new government in coalition of the leaders of UCPN-Maoist but majority of central working committee members have
successfully resisted this temptation of Party President Girija Prasad Koirala and have kept alive the Government of
unelected Prime Minister Madhav Nepal.
Although Sujata has visited China on September 08, 2009, and has been the witness in signing the Memorandum of
Understanding on three projects such as cleaning vehicles and equipment, setting up a border area monitoring center at
Tatopani, and study on improving the areas around the Ring-road in Kathmandu by Nepalese Ambassador to China Tanka Karki
and Chinese Assistant Minister for Commerce Chong Quang in Beijing on September 10, 2009, she has heavily tilted to the
southern neighbor giving Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood a free access to her office and emboldening him to do many things
a diplomat is supposed not to do.
In the first week of June 2009, while the Nepalese media including the state-run media have been airing and publishing
the news about the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese territory; after the meeting with the Indian envoy Rakesh Sood,
newly appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala has said that no Indian encroachment on the Nepalese
territory has been, and no displacement of Nepalis from the area emboldening Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood to say that
members of the Nepalese parliament stating the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese territory have made irresponsible
remarks on June 5, 2009 provoking strong reactions from the members of parliament. They have demanded the Government of
Nepal sending Indian envoy Rakesh Sood back to India for his undiplomatic remarks.
The Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Human Rights Committee have made a decision on Saturday, June
6, 2009 on sending a 11-member parliamentary delegation to the Dang district for a field checking the Indian
encroachment on the Nepalese territory. On Sunday, June 7, 2009, the National Interest Preservation Committee (NIPC) of
the Constituent Assembly (CA) has also made a decision on sending a team to check the Indian encroachment on the
Nepalese territory at the 22-border points from Koilabas of Dang district to Kusuma of Banke district and has sent a
team for a five-day trip on Monday, June 8, 2009. Both the teams have found that the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese
territory has displaced many Nepalis from the areas they have visited.
On October 12, 2009, Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala takes the oath of office of deputy prime minister from
Prime Minister Madhav Nepal in presence of President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav at the presidential residence. Not only she has
achieved her ambition of becoming deputy prime minister but also met the goal of her father and President of NC Girija
Prasad Koirala of promoting her to the office of deputy prime minister just a step away from the office of prime
minister. Both the father and the daughter have bullied the opposition of NC Parliamentary Party Ram Chandra Poudel and
members of the Central Working Committee of NC to promoting Sujata from minister to deputy prime minister.
Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood has congratulated Sujata for getting promotion to the deputy prime minister and holding
such an important portfolio of the foreign affairs and hoped for the better relationship between India and Nepal. After
an exchange of some pleasantries, Sood is about to get up from the sofa to say bye to the newly promoted deputy prime
minister, something has struck his mind and he has regained his position on the sofa and said, “Sujata, I understand
your ministry is going to print machine-readable passports (MRPs). Why don’t you award the contract for printing MRPs to
the Indian-state security printing press, you will benefit and we will, too.”
“We have already international biddings for printing the MRPs, soon my staffs are going to open them and award the job
to the lowest bidders. I think, I may not be able to change it. However, your proposal for printing MRPs in India for
the benefits of both sides is appreciable. I am sorry; I may not be able to do anything to it. If you have any other
proposals, I am happy to consider them not this one. Thank You,” said Sujata.
“There is no such word as ‘impossible’ in the world of politicians. You just cancel the international biddings on one
pretext or another and then award the company you like and then take a benefit from it,” said Sood.
The last deadline set by the UN International Civil Aviation Organization for Nepal to issue MRPs is April 01, 2010.
Sujata feels the time constraint on getting the MRPs printed well before the April first. She has just a few months
before the deadline for issuing MRPs expires. However, the trophy she will win from awarding the contract for the job of
printing MRPs to the State-run company is the most attractive one. She does not want to miss it.
Ambassador Rakesh Sood don’t want to miss the opportunity of getting the vital information on the important Nepalese
personalities through printing the MRPs in India, as the company can keep a duplicate chip or store the details of every
MRPs, and use them in the future whenever the needs arise. So, for Sood, it is a great opportunity of extracting a favor
while India-favoring person is at the helm of preparing MRPs. He has thrown such huge bait that Sujata simply cannot
dream up.
Sujata is the single daughter of Girija Prasad Koirala: one of the most controversial politicians. When Sujata is still
young her mother has died but her father has not married in view of the politician’s life. He does not know when he will
land in jail or how long he will need to stay in exile at the time when the despotic rulers have been after the person
like him that has been seeking for democracy in Nepal. He has come with his senior brother BP Koirala and the then
senior Leader Ganesh Man Singh back to Nepal from self-exile in India in the name of reconciliation with the monarchy
rather than surrendering the foreign power in the mid 1970s. The fact is BP Koirala and his colleagues have been
campaigning with the then Indian Socialist Leader Jayaprakash Narayan against the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. So,
she has removed all sorts of privileges given by the Indian Government to the Nepalese leaders such as BP Koirala,
Ganesh Man Singh and Girija Prasad Koirala and so on in exile in India. Virtually, she has forced them to return to
Nepal.
Sujata has grown a single child of a single parent. She has enjoyed every possible luxury her fugitive politician father
can afford. She has married a German man called Joss, and has a daughter from him. Sujata has enjoyed her early youth in
Germany while her father has been going back and forth between Nepal and India.
Her father Girija Prasad Koirala has become the first Prime Minister of Nepal in 1991 after the joint movement of NC and
CPN-UML has successfully toppled the aging no-party political system called Panchayat presided over by the then absolute
ruler Birendra in 1990. Then, the luck of young Sujata has changed drastically. She has been the daughter of not only
the Prime Minster of Nepal but also the President of NC. She wields power in the party and the government.
Many party politicians seeking the favor of Girija but not having a direct access to him have used Sujata as a bridge to
reach Girija. Similarly, businesspersons, contractors and others seeking favor from Girija have approached Sujata for
negotiations. So, anybody can imagine how much powerful Sujata has been.
Sujata has used her luncheon for meeting with businesses persons or wealthy party persons. She has preferred to have a
lunch with them in five-star hotels. Her favorite place to lunch with the businesspersons has been Hotel Himalaya at
Pulchok from where she can watch the beautiful scenes of the high mountains.
She gives an audience to any person wishing to see her at the gate of her residence at Maharajgunj in Kathmandu while
she is going out. So, anybody seeking her favor waits at the gate of her residence for her to come out. It reminds some
senior people the time of Rana regime when people seeking the favor of the ruling Rana family members, have stood at the
gate for hours for several weeks just to bow down at the sight of the Rana family members for drawing their attention.
Sujata takes the paper from anybody waiting for her to come out of her residence and quickly reads through such papers
and immediately takes the decision on how much a person needs to pay for the favor she is willing to give. Then, she
drives on. She does not need to consult with any ministers or high officials in the administration. She simply orders
them to do what the favors seekers have wanted them to do. For some people that can pay as much as Sujata demands that
has been the fastest route to reach the Nepalese bureaucracy and get the job done at the snap of their fingers. Anybody
can guess how much she must have collected from the businesspersons and contractors but she surely does not show off in
public the life the wealth has brought her.
Falling in the trap of the bait Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood has set for her, Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala
holding the portfolio of foreign affairs cancels the international bids in January 2010, the first step she has taken to
award the contract for printing MRPs to the Indian state-run company. Then, she pushes the Chief Secretary to take the
proposal to the cabinet for passing it. Following the bureaucratic process of Nepal, the Chief Secretary to the Cabinet
needs to take the proposal for awarding the contract for printing the MRPs to the Cabinet then the Cabinet needs to
approve before Sujata can award the job to the Indian State-run company.
On February 27, 2010, speaking at the Reporters’ Club in Kathmandu, Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala has said that
she has twice asked the Chief Secretary to the Council of Minister to take the proposal for printing MRPs in India but
he has not taken it; she would have fired him if she were the Prime Minister. Obviously, Prime Minister Madhav Nepal
does not want to fire the man for getting nothing. Madhav himself has instructed the Chief Secretary not to bring the
proposal for the reasons clear to all. Madhav has not had to benefit even a single rupee from this deal. So, why does he
need to ratify the proposal?
Sujata has made a strong case of not being able to make available MRPs to meet the international deadline for issuing
them on April 01, 2010 if she does not award the job for printing MRPs to India but she is of course shy to tell the
public how much she is getting from this deal on MRPs. Everybody guesses that she is getting the benefits of tens of
millions of rupees because the deal is for several hundred millions of rupees.
She has also been mad at the members of the Parliamentary Public Account Committee (PAC) for repeatedly serving her
subpoena to appear before them and tell them clearly why she has cancelled the international biddings for printing MRPs.
The Foreign Ministry has called international biddings for printing MRPs following the Public Procurement Act of 2006.
However, she has set aside the Pubic Procurement Act for canceling the international biddings and then for awarding the
contract for printing MRPs to the Indian state-run company. However, PAC members want her to make a transparent deal on
printing MRPs following the law. Naturally, she will be mad at them for instructing her to do the state business
following the law. In other countries where the rule of law strictly prevails such a minister could land in jail for
several years but in Nepal even if the country has the laws but ministers usually bully them. So, Nepalis have the
unelected man as the prime minister. Anybody can imagine what kind of democracy Nepalis have enjoyed.
After coming to power in 1991, Girija Prasad Koirala has only one dream in his life is to make his only daughter an heir
to his political legacy means to hand down the presidency of his party from him to her and the office of Prime minister
whenever an opportunity arises. The statute of NC is actually a copy of the statute of the Indian Congress. Once a
person is elected to the office of the president of the party, s/he wields an unimaginable power in the party business.
The president appoints the vice-president, general secretary and a large number of the central working committee of the
party. So, such provisions made in the statute of the NC make the president almost an autocrat. Any autocrat puts
his/her family members, friends and sycophants at the powerful positions of the party and the government. This party is
called a democratic party in Nepal.
Before the demise of Girija Prasad Koirala on March 20, 2010, he could realize his dream of passing down his legacy to
his daughter up to the office of deputy prime minister. Even to do so, Girija has to strongly deal with Madhav Nepal
using his every power to force Madhav Nepal to upgrade Sujata from Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Deputy Prime
Minister. Madhav would have never promoted Sujata to his deputy if he has not been vulnerable to the favor of Girija to
hang on the office of prime minister. He would also have not passed the proposal of Sujata for awarding the contract for
printing MRPs to the Indian company on March 23, 2010 giving the entire benefits of such a deal to one person: Sujata,
if he has not the pressure from father Koirala.
Obviously, the Nepalese Cabinet can make decisions on any things disregarding the rule of law, as the Cabinet has
awarded the contract for printing MRPs to the Indian state-run company going against the Public Procurement Act. Even
the Parliamentary Public Account Committee cannot do anything. Before forwarding the proposal for printing MRPs to the
Cabinet, the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has consulted the Attorney General. Clearly, the Secretary has
received the positive answer for bullying the Public Procurement Act from the Attorney General. So, it is no wonder that
the killers of innocent Nepalis get promoted to the highest office of the Nepal Army and the unelected man becomes the
Prime Minister.
Sujata has awarded the contract for printing MRPs to the Indian state-run company at US$ 4 per piece of printing whereas
the lowest bid for printing the same has been less than two US dollars. So, anybody can imagine how much money Sujata is
making at the cost of the state treasury.
Speaking at a press meet held by the Press Union of the Morang District at the Koirala Residence in Biratnagar before
returning to the capital on April 10, 2010, Deputy Prime Minister holding the portfolio of Foreign Affairs Sujata
Koirala has said that the MRP-printing issue should not taint the image of Nepal and should not hurt the friendly
relations between the two countries. She has also said that the government will honor the ruling of the Supreme Court of
Nepal on printing MRPs.
On Friday, April 10, 2010, again the PAC has issued directives to the government of Prime Minister Madhav Nepal for
following the Public Procurement Act of 2006 for awarding the contract for printing MRPs. The PAC has repeatedly
instructed the Madhav government to follow the rule of law for printing MRPs on time. However, Prime Minister Madhav
Nepal has failed to listen to the PAC.
Replying to the questions of the members of the PAC on April 05, 2010, Prime Minister Madhav Nepal has said that his
government has negotiated with India and decided to print MRPs at the Indian government-owned company due to the short
time available for meeting the deadline for issuing MRPs; in addition, India has committed to provide the Government of
Nepal with additional support for running the MRPs in Nepal. Members of the PAC has been asking the Prime Minister why
his government has defied the PAC’s directives to award the contract for printing MRPs following the Public Procurement
Act of 2006 and awarded the contract for printing MRPs to the Indian government–run government without following the
Public Procurement Act of 2006.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has made the provision for all developing countries to issue MRPs
starting on April 01, 2010. Any other passports issued from that date onwards would not be valid for the international
travel. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would not be able to issue MRPs on that date, it has issued a public notice
to all Nepalese citizens for rushing to receive passports by March 31, 2010 stating such passports will be valid for the
international travel until November 24, 2014. The Ministry has worked days and nights including the off days to issue
passports.
Deputy Prime Minister Bijya Gacchedar has said on April 07, 2010 that the government has made the decision on printing
MRPs in India based on consensus of all ministers on this matter; the government has to award the contract for printing
MRPs to the Indian company because the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have delayed the processing of bids
for awarding the contract for printing MRPs. However, he has acknowledged that the government has done the worst thing
disregarding the directives of the PAC on following the rules and regulations for printing MRPs.
After the intense pressure of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and other political leaders, the Cabinet took a
decision on Sunday, April 11, 2010 on annulling its previous decision taken on March 23, 2010 on awarding the contract
for printing MRPs to the Indian government-run company at US$ 4 per piece of printing. The UCPN-Maoist has held street
demonstrations and a massive rally in Kathmandu to protest the printing of MRPs in India saying that the Indian security
printing company can keep the secrets of all Nepalese MRPs holders. Similarly, leaders of other political parties have
also openly come out against the printing of MRPs in India. The government of Madhav Nepal has cancelled the
international bids for printing MRPs paving the way for awarding a contract for the same to the Indian government–owned
company despite the price benefit from awarding the contract to the lowest international bidder.
Referring to the instructions of the PAC for following the Public Procurement Act of 2006 for awarding the contract for
printing MRPs, Sujata has questioned what rights the PAC has to instruct the government to do things; the government has
executive power and will do whatever it wants to do. She has also said that the PAC is made up of a bunch of corrupt
people. Certainly, she does not think her a corrupt deputy prime minister otherwise she would have surely followed the
rules and regulations rather than use a backdoor means to award the contract for printing MRPs to the Indian state-run
printing press.
For Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood, securing the contract for printing MRPs for the Indian company is a great financial
gain for India and a political gain for him, too for building a political career. However, he has never realized that he
has gone too far advising Sujata to cancel the international bids for printing MRPs in India and then awarding the
contracts for the same to the Indian State-run Company that also at the higher price than the price of the lowest
international bidder. Both the father Koirala as the president of NC and the daughter Koirala as the deputy prime
minister holding the portfolio of foreign affairs have to exert a heavy pressure on the then government of Madhav Nepal
to cancel the international bids for printing MRPs and then secure the contract for the same for the Indian company.
Daughter Sujata has set fire to the funereal pyre of the deceased Girija Prasad Koirala at Aryaghat in Kathmandu at 8:45
PM on March 21, 2010 with it probably she has set the fire on the possibility of being the president of NC and
subsequently the prime minister of Nepal. The Nepal Army played a national anthem and gave fifteen-gun salute to Koirala
at the time when Ms. Koirala took a torch and went around the funeral pyre three times before setting fire on father
Koirala. As the former Acting Head Of State, Koirala received the honor of the state funeral and got the honor of
getting the funeral site reserved for the Head Of State. He had been the Acting Head Of State-cum-Interim Prime Minister
from 2006 to 2008.
Sujata has shown that daughters are not different from the sons for setting the fire on the dead body of parents
following the Hindu funeral rites. However, she seems not much worried about her daughter not being able to get the
Nepalese citizenship certificate because her father is German whereas children of Nepalese men marrying foreign women
have no problems of getting Nepalese citizenships at all. Nepalese laws have not given the equal rights to the Nepalese
women wedding foreigners. However, both the father and daughter Koiralas have not had worked very hard for making men
and women equal in the eyes of every laws.
After the death of father Koirala, Sujata has not many troubles with staying on in the office of deputy prime minister;
however, she has burned the opportunity of being the party president along with burning the funeral pyre of her father.
She has even the problem of getting any significant office of her party not to mention the office of president as the
political scenes unfold. In the 12th convention of NC held in Kathmandu starting on September 17, 2010 with a huge rally
held at Tundikhel, Kathmandu if father Koirala had been alive Sujata would have been standing next to her father at the
time of opening the convention but two senior leaders such as Sushil Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba claiming for the
office of the president of NC have jointly opened the 12th Convention. Later, in this convention, Sushil Koirala has
defeated Sher Bahadur Deuba in the election held to the office of the party president.
On November 28, 2010, Officiating Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala has immediately rejected the nominations of Ram
Chandra Poudel and Krishna Prasad Sitaula for the vice-president and general secretary of NC respectively made by
President Sushil Koirala. As the president of the party, Sushil Koirala has the authority to nominate the vice-president
and general secretary from among the elected central members subject to the ratification by the central working
committee of NC, and also to nominate 21 members of the central working committee of the party. Sujata has claimed that
the party leadership means three leaders such as Acting President Sushil Koirala, Senior Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and
NC Parliamentary Leader Ram Chandra Poudel jointly has assured her of the office of the vice-president of the party
asking her to pull out her candidacy from the election during the general convention.
In the past, Sujata has shown her unstable political mind saying weird political things. She has been for keeping the
monarchy for the fear of the Maoists. On November 17, 2007, speaking at the Reporters’ Club in Kathmandu, she has said
that she is for resuscitating the Constitution of Nepal of 1990 that has made the parliamentary democracy and the
constitutional monarchy as the provisions cannot be amended. In January 2010, Sujata has said that she is for holding a
referendum on federalism provoking fiery criticisms from most of the legislators particularly the Madheshi political
parties belonging to the coalition government of which she is the deputy prime minister, and the opposition Maoist
party. In the third week of January 2010, Sujata has said that she is for forming an alternative to the then government
making her own boss Prime Minister Madhav Nepal nervous and again drawing strong criticism from him. Speaking at a press
conference held by the Reporters´ Club in Kathmandu on October 31, 2010, Officiating Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala has
said that NC needs to stop Ram Chandra Poudel from running the race for the office of prime minister for reaching an
agreement with the UCPN-Maoist. She may be right but she has infuriated Poudel. Obviously, she has simply followed the
footprints of her father.
Sujata must be very naive to hope any significant office of her party from the joint leadership of three leaders such as
Acting President Sushil Koirala, Senior Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, and NC Parliamentary Party Leader Ram Chandra Poudel,
as they have been against even making her the minister in the coalition government not to mention promoting her to the
deputy prime minister even when her powerful father has been still alive. Acting NC President Sushil Koirala has once
said that he will resigned from the office of Acting President of his party if Sujata Koirala is made a minister in the
coalition government led by Madhav Nepal. However, neither Mr. Koirala has resigned from the office nor he could stop
Sujata from becoming a minister then getting promotion to a deputy prime minister. On October 17, 2009, Senor NC Leader
Sher Bahadur Deuba has reacted sharply to the promotion of Sujata to the deputy prime minister. He has said that the
decision of Prime Minister Madhav Nepal made without consulting his party on elevating Sujata to deputy prime minister
is unfortunate, and has hurt its democratic values. Ram Chandra Poudel has been neither for making Sujata a minister nor
for a deputy prime minister. All those three leaders that have been leaders due to the favor of her father have been for
giving Sujata neither any significant party office nor the government office for the fear of Sujata inheriting the
authority from her father Girija Prasad Koirala.
On April 11, 2010, the Ministry of foreign Affairs has taken the decision on calling fresh bids for printing MRPs under
the intense pressure of the PAC members and the leaders of the UCPN-Maoist that have even called for the shutdown of
Nepal in protest against the contract for printing MRPs given to the Indian government–run company without following the
instructions of the PAC that has asked the Madhav government for following the Public Procurement Act of 2006 for
awarding the contract. The UCPN-Maoist has called off the shutdown of Nepal after the government’s decision on annulling
the previous decision on awarding the contract for printing MRPs in India.
Then, comes the resignation of Madhav Nepal from the office of prime minister on June 30, 2010 under the pressure of his
own party leaders and leaders of the coalition partner such as NC rather than the pressure of the opposition party
UCPN-Maoist because Madhav has not performed in any sectors of the national issues to their satisfaction. Madhav has
claimed that he has the majority support for his government in the parliament but he has resigned to pave the way for
the consensus politics. The president has asked Madhav to officiate the government to run the administration
On July 01, 2010, immediately after the fall of the Madhav government on June 30, 2010, Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire
has sent a circular to his colleagues in the government stating not to work under the pressure of officiating Prime
Minister Madhav Nepal and his ministers because his colleagues in the administration will be accountable to whatever
decisions they make rather than the officiating prime minister and his ministers. So, high-ranking officials of the
Foreign Ministry might not entertain the instructions of Minister Sujata Koirala.
Minister For Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala has asked Secretary to the Foreign Ministry Madan Kumar Bhattarai and Chief
of Protocol Mukti Nath Bhatta for the details about the decision made on awarding the contract for printing MRPs on July
07, 2010. The Foreign Ministry has made a decision on awarding the contract for printing MRPs to the French company
Oberthur Technologies at US $ 3.59 per piece on July 06, 2010 according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal.
Other three companies such as British De La Rue, Indonesian Perum Peruru and Singaporean Three M Technology have also
bided for the job of printing MRPs
Officiating Deputy Prime Minister holding portfolio of foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala has refused to sign off on the
document awarding a contract for printing machine-readable passports (MRPs) to a French company: the lowest bidder among
the four bidders for the job August 13, 2010. Obviously, Sujata is not happy with the contract awarding to the lowest
bidder.
However, on August 27, 2010, one of the concerned officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has signed the deal with
the French security printing company called Oberthur Technologies for MRPs bypassing officiating Foreign Minister Sujata
Koirala on the condition that the Foreign Ministry will receive the first lot of MRPs after 70 days from the date of
awarding the contract.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing to issue MRPs starting on December 26, 2010 and is opening its counter to
receive applications from Nepalese citizens for MRPs on December 19, the state–run newspaper ‘The Rising Nepal’ of
December 13, 2010 has reported.
After the cancellation of the contract for printing MRPs, the state-run security printing company has sent a letter to
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal for the refund of US$48,000 it has spent on various things in preparation for
printing the MRPs after it has received the contract for the job.
Sujata has lost many things after the death of her father. The first one is the cancellation of the job of the printing
of MRPs she has given to the state-run Indian security company; with the cancellation she has lost the commission she is
supposed to receive from the contract. With the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Nepal, she has also lost the job of
the deputy prime minister. Then, she has very hard time to fighting for the office of vice-president of her party.
Whether she will be able to keep her afloat in the high tides of the current Nepalese politics in absence of her father
remains to be seen.
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Siddhi Ranjitkar's email address is siddhiranjit@gmail.com