Left-sponsored strike hits Nepal

Katmandu, May 27: A three-day general strike called by six communist groups began in Kathmandu on Sunday. The groups are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Girija Prasada Koirala over alleged irregularities in a deal by the Royal Nepal Airlines Corp to lease a Boeing 767 aircraft from Austria’s Lauda Air.

‘‘The Prime Minister must resign because of his role in finalising the Lauda Air deal,’’ said Pradeep Nepali, a member of the Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist party.

Employees walked to work as public transport and taxis went off the roads for fear of being stoned by activists enforcing the strike.

Police said there were no immediate reports of violence.

Business groups said the shut down would cripple the economy and hurt tourism, a mainstay of the Himalayan Kingdom’s economy.

An independent commission investigating the abuse of authority, last week charged a former civil aviation minister, seven officials of the state airline and two foreigners with corruption related to the deal signed late last year. The anti-corruption panel also sought the recovery of 389.7 million Nepali rupees, which it said was the amount lost by the airline because of the controversial deal. The panel did not name Koirala but warned him against protecting corrupt officials in future.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Koirala had approved the foreign exchange required for the deal which was signed despite warnings by a Parliamentary panel saying the agreement violated existing laws.

Pradeep Nepal demanded Koirala own moral responsibility and resign because it was his Cabinet which had approved the payment for the deal.(Reuters)