NC leader Arzu Rana Deuba clarifies she has no links to controversial Batas Group

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) central member Arju Rana Deuba has clarified that she does not have any links with the scandalous Batas Group.

NC leader Rana Deuba, issuing a statement on social media Thursday, said her attention had been drawn to media reports tying her to various organizations.

Media reports have tied Rana Deuba to the Batas Group alleging that she was an advisor to the group. The Batas Group has courted controversy over running business, including a restaurant, inside the Narayanhiti Palace Museum of late.

Making public a list of organizations the NC leader is involved with, she clarified, “Other than the listed organizations, I am not associated with any other organizations in any capacity.”

Rana Deuba, who is also the first lady, listed the Rural Women’s Development and Unity Center, Saathi Nepal, Safe Motherhood Network Federation, NAMI College, Ullens School and Blood Donors Association of Nepal as the organizations she was working with.

Apart from politics, NC leader Rana Deuba is the champion of the female voice in the country, a philanthropist and a social worker. She is actively involved in running numerous social organizations and has a special interest in the empowerment of women in Nepal.

She is also pursuing the demarcation of a large tract of land as a natural reserve in Nepal. As a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, she has been active in providing directives to the Government of Nepal in keeping with its national and international commitments for nature conservation.

On the international front, she has used her expertise in the field of gender and social issues to interface with environmental issues. Deuba has become an active member of the Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA) to campaign for mainstreaming gender issues within the UNFCCC.

In addition, she continues to be the role model of tens of thousands of Nepali women who look up to her as a leader as a politician, champion of environmental causes, climate activist and agent of social change.