Sujata firm on printing MRPs in India
KATHMANDU, MAR 11 -
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala said on Thursday that the contract of printing the controversial Machine Readable Passports (MPRs) should be granted to India's government-owned Security Printing and Minting Corporation.
Talking to journalists upon her arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport after completing her Europe tour today, the deputy prime minister said the situation had become shameful due to weaknesses on the part of Nepal government and that the passport deal should be given to India without thinking much about the matter. She said she wonders why the proposal she took to the cabinet two months ago has not been approved yet.
She said she chose the Indian company for the job as it had presented the proposal first. She said there is no risk of information leakage as the tasks of printing and photo numbering will be carried out in Nepal. She said India would even construct a building here for the printer.
Koirala also said the country has not been developed due to unnecessary suspicion over India. If there is a security threat from giving MRP printing job to India, there will be equal threat from giving the job to any other company, Koirla said.
As per the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) deadline, Nepal has to implement MRPs from April 1.
Responding to a query, she said she was informed that her father NC President GP Koirala’s health is improving and a decision whether to take him abroad will be taken only after consultations with the doctors.
She said she had taken CA member Ram Krishna Yadav, who is also the chairman of Public Accounts Committee of the parliament, to Europe tour as he was also a good friend and her party member.
Koirala had gone to Europe to take part in a 13th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Feb 27.
Posted on: 2010-03-11 03:03
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