KATHMANDU: It has been revealed that high-profile entrepreneurs, industrialists and manpower company operators had lobbied to remove Former Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista.

Bista had launched a campaign to end all-out corruption being involved in supplying Nepali migrant workers abroad.

Minister Bista had directed the concerned authorities to carry out raid on those manpower companies involved in cheating aspirant migrant workers and make them cough up what they owed to the migrant workers.

Manpower operators were under pressure and were dissatisfied with Bista’s indirect inspection carried out by the Department of Foreign Employment (DFE).

Bista had hiked the manpower’s collateral to control ongoing fraud in the foreign employment and visa verification through diplomatic missions by reforming the then existing foreign employment act. These acts irked the manpower companies, further.

Manpower operators lobbied against Bista

Not only manpower operators, influential businessmen including Chandra Dhakal had their roles in removing Bista, according to sources.

Sources claimed that Dhakal lobbied with the higher authority to remove Bista after the latter tightened grip on business firms to bring them within the purview Social Security Fund (SSF).

“Dhakal had lobbied hard for the removal of Former Minister Bista after the latter enforced regulations to bring the former’s companies within the purview of the SSF,” said the sources, adding, “He had been actively  disseminating false rumor about Bista.”

Dhakal had been skipping the programs related to the SSF of late.

Dhakal, who had been advising Bista to penalize those skipping programs, was himself reluctant to enlist his own staffers under the SSF.

A source at the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) said that, Dhakal, vice president of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), had been lobbying hard with NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to remove Bista lest his companies’ expenses would go up and his property details would be revealed.

A total of 1, 500 staffers have been working in various companies including Global IME, IME Remittance,
Global Bank, Dish Home and Chandragiri Hills P. Ltd run by Dhakal.

The entrepreneurs stood united and started lobbying against Bista after the latter ruled that all the employment providing companies should come within the purview of the SSF, according to sources.

“Dhakal had been evading tax by presenting a huge number of staffers than the actual number working in the companies during the auditing. He was worried that factual details on tax evasion committed by his companies would be revealed if he registered them with the SSF,” said the sources.

Maneuvering of manpower operators

Manpower company operators had gone frantic and been annoyed after Former Minister Bista came hard on those who were involved in cheating Nepali migrant workers while sending them abroad.

Hence, the influential manpower companies had lobbied with Prime Minister KP Oli using political clout, sources said.

The sources claimed that Hem Gurung, the operator of SOS Manpower P. Ltd, chairman of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies Rohan Gurung, had been lobbying to remove Bista from the ministry.

Gurung had been unhappy with Bista after he did not allow the former to set up Qatari Visa Center in Kathmandu.

Manpower companies had been accusing Bista of not listening to their words and arresting them for no reason.

VLN operator Ram Shrestha, who had been arrested on the charge of swindling Nepali people, had also been unhappy with Bista. Shrestha had been arrested one and a half years ago for swindling Nepali migrant workers by promising them lucrative jobs in Malaysia.

Minister Bista had warned that he would not leave anyone go scot-free involved in cheating Nepali people in the name of foreign employment.

Manpower operators including Shrestha and entrepreneurs had been lobbying with the influential politicians to remove Bista for long, the source claimed.