Prachanda angry, Sushil Koirala happy

Kathmandu, 8 May: As Chairman Prachanda poured venom of Valley residents for their spontaneous anti-Maoist protests in the capital Friday, Nepali Congress Acting President Sushil Koirala Saturday thanked FNCCI, Nepal Chamber of Commerce and other professional organizations for their participation on the peace rally yesterday.
Koirala said in a statement the presence of the people of the streets created a ‘principled pressure’ on Maoists who withdrew their indefinite nation-wide strike in six days.
FNCCI had also sponsored a summit debate between the three parties at a hotel in the capital to unsuccessfully defuse the crisis.
Irate Prachanda said ‘well-dressed people’ of Kathmandu can’t draft a constitution and charged the capital’s people were anti-poor.
He asked valley residents to ‘choose between peace and war’.
Valley residents didn’t lend support to the Maoist strike; hundreds of thousands of Maoists were bussed into the Valley from districts.
But pictures in newspapers showed not raggedly dressed villagers in Nepali attire but well-dressed Maoists in western garb armed with sticks thrashing people on the capital’s streets during the six-day demonstration.
Several commercial banks conducted business on a public holiday Saturday by opening counters after a six-day closure.
EU ambassadors Saturday welcomed the withdrawal of the strike by Maoists.
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Ananda Prasad Dhungana on death fast

Kathmandu, 8 May: Nepali Congress central committee member Ananda Prasad Dhungana Saturday went on an indefinite fast at the party district office in Dhansha alleging irregularities in the distribution of party active membership.
General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi, of the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction was charged for irregularities.
Dhungna was a loyalist of Girija Prasad Koirala faction and demanded distribution of membership though the regional office.
The distribution of membership is important to grab party leadership at the general convention in August following the death of President Girija Prasad Koirala.
Sushil Koirala, Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Paudel are the main contestants for leadership.
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