16th ROUND VOTING FOR PM THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Sixteenth round voting for prime minister to elect successor of Madhab KumarNepal is being held Thursday at three in the afternoon.
The exercise will be inconclusive.
Maoists, the biggest partying parliament, and UML—the third largest party in the legislature, haven’t changed their positions to boycott the vote.
Sole candidate NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel won’t get the required 310 votes to get elected.
Paudel is the only candidate after Chairman Prachanda withdrew from the contest nearly four months ago.
Foreign governments have urged early end of the impasse to enable them to conduct business with a legitimate government during the extended transition.
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THURSDAY IN KAAG TIHAR

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Thursday is kaag tihar.
Kaag is worshiped on the first day of Yamapanchak with offerings as a messenger of Yamaraj—the God of Death.
Besides the kaag or crow—the cow and dog are also worshipped in tihar.
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TENURE OF PRACHANDA TASK FORCE ENDS THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: The tenure of the high-powered Prachanda-led seven-member task force to speed up the delayed constitution drafting process ends Thursday.
The task force began meeting Thursday to give final touches to Wednesday’s agreement to issue a single a single citizenship from the center with provisional citizenship in a new federal state structure.
The task force with top party leaders is discussing the tenure.
The body hasn’t covered all 230 points on which there are differences to suggest recommendations to Chairman Subash Nemwang of the constituent assembly.
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DENGUE DETECTED IN MOHOTTARI AND SARLAHI AS WELL

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Cases of dengue have surfaced in Mohottari and Sarlahi as well.
Dipesh Mahoto, 18, of Samsi-1 has tested positive along with a person in Sarlhi who has been referred to a hospital in the capital for treatment.
The disease has assumed epidemic proportion in Chitwan and areas around Butwal.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

GLOBAL BANK LTD EARNS RS 87.8M PROFIT IN Q1

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Global Bank Ltd. recorded a Rs 87.8 million profit in
Q1 of the current fiscal year ending mid-October.
The bank recorded a Rs 42.3 million profit in the correspondingprevious year quarter.
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SPORTS

SHIVA RAM SHRESTH LIFTS PRESIDENT’S CUP

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Shiva Ram Shrestha Wednesday lifted the NPGA President’s Cup at the Royal Nepal Golf Club.
He led all three rounds to record a four-stroke victory over Umesh Nagarkoti.
Shrestha got a prize money of Rs 44,000.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“He’s [Krishna Prasad Bhattarai] and old friend. There were differences in between; we parted company. Now we think alike.”

(Dr Tulsi Giri after meeting Krishna Prasad Bhattarai along with Kamal Thapa, Annapurna Post, 4 Nov.)

“NC led all important steps of the peace process and now it should lead the new government to complete the peace process.’

(Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, The Himalayan Times. 4 Nov.)

“Appointment, punishment of judges and departmental action against them should not be the affairs of the constitutional council. I am hopeful that the judicial independence will be upheld.”

(Chief Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha, The Himalayan Times, 4 Nov.)

THAPA’S SECOND ROUND DINNER DIPLOMACY WITH NC LEADERS

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Rashtriya Janashakti Party Chairman Surya Bahadur Thapa Wednesday night also held a dinner reception for NC leaders at his Maligaon residence, Annapurna Post reports.
Former General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi, Chief Whip Laxman Ghimere, central members Khum Bahadur Khadka, NP Saud, Shanker Bhandari, Chandra Bhandari, Gagan Thapa and others were present.
Thapa told the NC leaders NC shouldn’t withdraw its candidacy fir prime minister until an agreement with Maoists on the peace process and constitution drafting.
Thapa also discussed a broad democratic he proposed during the first day’s dinner.
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411 LEGISLATORS HAVE HIDDEN THEIR PASSPORTS

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Altogether 411 legislators have hidden their red passports that should have been returned to the foreign ministry after the completion of their foreign visits, Nagarik reports.
They’re using these passports for their personal trips abroad as well.
Instead, one lawmaker has taken three passports in three years.
“Lawmakers drafting the country’s basic law are flouting the present law,” a source at the parliament secretariat told Nagarik.
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SOOD WARNED BY EMPLOYEES FOR INTERFERENCE

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Nepal Employees’ Federation has condemned the undiplomatic threatening language used by Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood against Home Secretary Gobinda Shrestha during a meeting, Naya Parika reports.
Chairman Rakam Lamichani, in a statement, opposed the threatening language of the ambassador against diplomatic norms. Lamichani alleged the ambassador was attempting in Nepal during political instability and weak transition.
He asked government and officials to react through diplomatic channels for the attempt to undermine an official against the Geneva Convention.
He warned of a strong strike if such acts are repeated.
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PM ATTEMPTING TO TRANSFER CIAA SECRETARY

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Finally, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is attempting to transfer CIAA secretary, Naya Patrika reports.
He had been stopping the CIAA’s effort to scrap Nepal Airline Corporation’s attempt to purchase an aircraft.
The prime minister had earlier summoned Secretary Bhagawati Prasad Kafle to Baluwatar directing him to stop the investigation.
A source close to the Office of the Prime Minister said Nepal was considering recall or even a reshuffle of secretaries.
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FOREIGN MINSTRY SMELLS RAT

Kathmandu,, 4 Nov.: : Navaraj Dahal, a resident of Bharatpokhari-4 Kaski, today approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) for a third passport in less than three years, Lekhnath Pandey reports in The Himalayan Times. .

Asked why he was procuring passports frequently, Dahal said he had lost passports twice in the past three years. MoFA

officials, however, think there’s more to it than meets the eye.

In-charge of the Passport Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bharat Paudyal, who Dahal had approached, said loss of passport had become a good pretext for acquiring multiple passports, which could be misused. So, the official advised Dahal to ‘search’ for the lost passport seriously before obtaining another one.

Dahal had taken his first passport from District Administration Office, Kaski, three years ago. He said he lost that passport in September 2010. On September 28, he obtained another passport, numbered 5230917, from MoFA, but once again he claimed he had lost it.

“I was sleeping with a cousin on Thursday night. When I got up, I found my passport and citizenship certificate gone,” Dahal said. “It might have been stolen.”

Police records say, he received his character certificate on the basis of the second passport on the very day he reported its loss.

Dahal obtained a duplicate citizenship certificate from Kaski District Administration Office yesterday and approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a new passport, saying he needed the passport immediately to apply for job in South Korea as he had passed the Korean language test .

Dahal’s case may be genuine, but Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials say cases whereby passports are obtained repeatedly citing its loss have gone up and this is posing a challenge.

Harish Chandra Ghimire, Deputy Spokesperson at the foreign ministry, could not specify the exact number of such cases. But, on Wednesday alone, MoFA handed over four people

to the police on the

charge of trying to obtain multiple passports.

Among those, Dhirendra Shah of Biratnagar-20, Morang, had applied for another passport, with the passport number on his citizenship certificate erased, rousing suspicion among MoFA officials.

Another applicant, Basanti Ghimire of Tribhuvannagar-10, Dang, had submitted a xerox copy of her citizenship certificate along with her application. Her excuse was her husband who is in the US had taken her citizenship certificate with him.

Paudyal said, “We go through the documents thoroughly and promptly hand the case over to

the police if we find anything wrong.
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CHITWAN PARK UNSAFE FOR RHINOS
Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: Amid a dwindling number of one-horned rhinos in the country, a parliamentary committee has come up with some disturbing findings as far as conservation of one-horned rhinos in the Chitwan National Park and the vicinity is concerned, Ramesh Prasad Bhusal reports in The Himalayan Times..

In a report prepared on the basis of field visits to the park and the vicinity, an eight-member team of the parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Means claims that lack of coordination among the Nepali Army, CNP authorities and seven hotels inside the national park are mainly to blame for the unabated poaching of the endangered species.

“Rhinos were found poached in the vicinity of the seven hotels inside the CNP, so there is no doubt that the poachers use the hotels to know about the behaviour of the species and prepare plans inside those hotels in many cases,” the report further states.

However, hoteliers concerned have denied the charges. “The charges are baseless and I urge the committee to provide an example of involvement of the hotels in poaching. If our involvement is proved, we are ready to face punishment,” said Basanta Mishra, owner of Temple Tiger hotel inside the CNP.

The report, though, has not named the hotels and the poachers ‘involved’.

In the last four months, 25 rhinos have died in the CNP and the vicinity, of which 12 reportedly died natural deaths while the rest were poached.

“If poaching continues at this rate, then we will have to be content with the pictures of the rare species as they cease to exist soon,” goes the report.

Further on, the report has found lapses in NA patrolling.

Describing NA patrolling as ‘very weak’, the report points at a “lack of coordination” between the park’s chief warden and chief of the army battalion in the park.

“The problem is that the chief warden cannot direct the battalion chief in the park as the same goes against the chain of command. The army does not entertain suggestions from the chief warden.”

On its part, the army refuted the blame. “The warden office and our battalion office are at the same place in Kasara. There has not been any dispute between the park authorities and the army. Both the parties are operating in close coordination,” said Ramindra Chhetri, the NA spokesman. Since CNP’s establishment in 1973, NA has been patrolling inside the park for the protection of wild animals.

Over the years, rhino population in the park has gone down.
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POUDEL BREACHED PREVIOUS UNDERSTANDING:NIDHI

Bimalendra Nidhi, 55, served as general secretary of Nepali Congress (NC) after the merger of then Nepali Congress (Democratic) with the mother party NC. A close aide to NC senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, he was defeated in the election for the post of general secretary during the 12th general convention by Prakash Man Singh. Nidhi has been an activist for democracy since student life largely because of the inspiration of his father as well as a veteran NC leader Mahendra Narayan Nidhi.

A former president of Nepal Student Union (1980-1983) and two time cabinet minister, Nidhi has been working as one of the key interlocutors of the NC in the inter-party dialogue on peace process and constitution-drafting. Nidhi spoke with Kosh Raj Koirala of Republica about the party’s 12th general convention, current political deadlock and the party’s future course of action, among other issues.

EXCERPTS

The 12th general convention was touted as unity convention. The convention has already finished with the election of central working committee (CWC) office bearers and members. Has this convention brought unity within NC? How will this affect the internal life of the party?

The 12th general convention was a unity convention in one sense. This was the first convention after the merger of then NC (Democratic) with the NC led by Girija Prasad Koirala. Since the merger, the NC was being run on the basis of an agreement reached between Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba. NC was yet to be united in terms of the party’s statute and its structure. This general convention has fulfilled this task.

On a separate note, this convention has adopted election system for the first time in the entire history of the party. This has made the structure of NC inclusive; it has taken the party from presidential system to the system of a committee. Earlier, the party president used to run the affairs of the party on his own. The convention has also addressed the voice for collective leadership raised since a long time back.

The meaning of embracing the culture of collective leadership in a legitimate way is to expand the authority of the party’s central committee. In this sense, this convention was highly successful. The convention has been able to take the party activities to the grassroots level, build the party’s image and help expand the organization and make the party participatory and inclusive.

What are the other changes that this convention has brought about in the party?

The convention has given an opportunity for us to make the party strong. It has helped to build the image of the party. There were concerns after the demise of Koiralaji as to how the party will run. The party was also criticized for lacking internal democracy. NC has allayed all those concerns after the convention. The convention has given opportunity to NC to play a leading role in Nepali politics. It depends now on our capacity to cash in on this opportunity. There are both challenges and opportunities for the newly-elected members and officer bearers.

Almost all people had projected that you would make to the post of party’s general secretary in the convention. What do you think were the reasons behind your defeat?
Well, I do not want to talk about the reasons here. I secured 1,217 votes. I lost the election because I failed to secure more votes than my rival. This is the simple reason behind my defeat.

But there were complaints coming from various leaders in the media that President Dr Ram Baran Yadav also solicited votes against you during his meeting with general convention representatives?

This is true that I could not win the confidence of the president. There was no need for the president’s role in the NC general convention. There is no such need now and there should not be any even in the days ahead.

From what I heard and was told personally, the president influenced votes against me. I do not know how far this is true. Newspapers reports suggested that the president took revenge against me for not supporting his son during the election in Dhanusha. I attended the rallies where his son asked me. In many places, he did not call me and there was no point in going without an invitation.

But, personally, I do not buy the suggestions of the media. I have not tried to investigate the matter. Nor do I want to raise the issue anywhere now.










It is said that leaders close to Deuba are dissatisfied with the role of the party’s parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Poudel in the general convention? Any comment on this?

Of course, there was an understanding reached among Deuba, Poudel, me and Kul Bahadur Gurung on issues related to prime ministerial candidacy and the general convention. Other friends including Purna Bahadur Khadka, Pradip Giri and Minendra Rijal also knew about this understanding. All I want to say now is that Poudel did not support us in the general convention as per the understanding reached before.

Some leaders of the party are openly saying that the 21 positions in the party’s CWC to be nominated by the party president should be shared with the Deuba faction on the basis of vote percentage received in the general convention. What do you think the party president should do on this?

I have not had any talks or meeting with the party president after the general convention. Neither has he asked me about this nor have I contacted him. I think it is not appropriate for me to speak about it now. So far as the provision in the party statute is concerned, the party president has to name the vice-president, one general secretary and joint general secretary from among the elected CWC members. This is his right.

However, it is important how he will exercise his legitimate rights. The party president should exercise his rights in such a way that it will create an environment for others to co-operate with him in order to run the party smoothly. If the president exercises his right keeping his personal interests at the forefront, this will certainly encourage others in the party as well to do things that best serves their interests. It is easy to be the chief of the party but difficult to become a leader. There are various departments within the party. How the president nominates party leaders acceptable to all in the departments and ensures participation of all in these organizations is yet to be seen.

There are efforts to make the party president strong. What do you say to this?

It is wrong to think that the president will become weaker if the CWC is made stronger. A strong CWC means a strong party organization. This will, on the contrary, make the president stronger. It is good to move ahead through consensus.

The issue of seniority has surfaced in the party yet again. Who do you think should come in the party hierarchy after the party president?

Obviously, Sher Bahadurji should be placed in the second position in terms of seniority in the party. So far as Sher Bahadurji is concerned, he is the former prime minister of the country. If a person who has already served as prime minister or president of a party is not respected by his own party, who else will respect him? If you do not teach the culture of respect at your home, others will also not respect you.

Let us now come to the current political situation. There have already been 15 rounds of voting for prime minister. Is it not time to withdraw candidacy or seek an alternative of lone prime ministerial candidate Poudel to end the current political deadlock?

Poudelji, who is our parliamentary party leader, has time and again said that he is ready to withdraw his candidacy once there is an agreement among parties on peace process, constitution-drafting and the candidate who would be next prime minister. I think we do not need to harbor any suspicion or debate about it since Poudelji himself has repeatedly said that he is ready to withdraw his candidacy. There are no differences within the party on issues related to peace process and constitution-drafting. It is with the Maoists that we have differences on these issues. The Maoists must facilitate army integration and rehabilitation, disband paramilitary structures of the Young Communist League and return seized properties.

The Maoists used to claim that there would be consensus immediately after the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. But there are no signs of consensus even four months after his resignation. So we should form a majority government if there is no possibility of forming a consensus government. We should be able to adhere to the politics of consensus even if we form a majority government.

As the political crisis in the country is deepening, the concerns of our neighboring countries China and India is gradually increasing in Nepal. Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has even said that there must be a strategic alliance between Nepal, India and China to resolve the political deadlock in Nepal. What do you say on this?

Nepal has special relations with India. While we have formal relations with China at the level of government and its structures, we have cultural relations with India. There must be goodwill and cooperation of both India and China for peace, progress and development in Nepal. Nepal should not play one against another.
However, I do not understand what Chairman Dahal means by strategic alliance among the three countries. This is nothing but an open invitation to both India and China to interfere in Nepal’s internal affairs. On the one hand, they protest against foreign interference while on the other hand they openly invite foreigners in our affairs. This is objectionable.

How will you present yourself in the party now as you have lost election for the post of party general secretary?

It does not mean that I have lost all my roles in the party after loosing in the general convention. I contested for the party’s central working member in the convention held in Kathmandu. I lost the election. I was elected as CWC member during the party’s convention held in Pokhara. I have lost the election and Prakash Man Singh has won it. This is an internal issue of the party. I wish him a successful term in the office.

I will focus my attention on completing the peace process and work toward establishing NC not as a back-bencher but as a party taking the lead in the peace process and constitution-drafting. I will travel across the country and meet my friends. I also have a role in the










constituent assembly and legislature-parliament.
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OVER 300 NEPALI BROKERS IN KUWAIT

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: More than 300 Nepali brokers are involved in trafficking of undocumented Nepali female workers to Kuwait and their non-cooperation has impeded the efforts of Nepali mission there to make the workplaces safer and systematize the recruiting process, Phrabhakar Ghimere reports in Republica.

“Nepalese embassy in Kuwait has introduced a provision of insurance policy and legal certificate for domestic helps to get approval of documents before forwarding the process for visa.
However, most of the recruiting agencies are seeking unorganized channel to traffic female workers to Kuwait,” Nepali ambassador to Kuwait Madhuwan Poudel told Republica on Wednesday.

Poudel, who is currently in the capital, said only a few Nepali brokers ere following the due process to arrange recruitment for workers in the oil-rich Gulf country.
Around 450 Kuwaiti agents are active in recruiting foreign workers in association with brokers from different countries, including Nepal.

“Nepali workers are also working with agents of other sending countries like Bangladesh and the Philippines, who are deliberately ignoring our call to make insurance policy and assurance of legal assistance to Nepali workers,” Poudel said.

Other countries like Sri Lanka, the Philippines and India have already made insurance for their workers mandatory in Kuwait. The countries have also arranged legal assistance for domestic helps in Kuwait.

According to Poudel, only about 900 workers of the estimated 5,000 workers who landed in Kuwait after May, 2010, have secured insurance policy and legal certificate. In case of death of workers at work places, the employers will provide 3,000 Kuwaiti Dinar as compensation to the families and 3,500 Dinar to transport body to Nepal.

But they aren´t required to pay the amount if the worker does not have insurance policy. Similarly, legal certificate covers the fee of lawyers amounting to as much as 1,000 Kuwait Dinar.

To uphold legal rights of workers and to provide them financial support in case of adversities, Nepali mission has urged the Kuwait-based brokers to provide Domestic Helps Insurance Policy on behalf of the employers and Legal Service Certificate to the workers.

Kuwait´s labor law covers only the workers in the corporate sector. In the absence of legal right to fight for their causes, Nepali workers are facing financial exploitation and other problems in Kuwait.

More than 33,000 of around 40,000 Nepalis working in Kuwait are domestic helps. Most of those working as domestic helps are house maids. More than 650,000 workers from different countries are working as domestic helps in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti government allows its citizens to hire up to four domestic helps.

Taking note of rising cases of Nepalis entering Kuwait through illegal channels, the Nepali mission has also requested the Kuwaiti government to bring foreign brokers working with local agents under the legal purview to make them more responsible and accountable.

“We have also requested the Kuwaiti government to downsize the number of local recruiting agents, bringing down the number of designated agents to around 20 or 25, so that the government can monitor their activities,” Poudel added. He also said as many as 30 undocumented Nepali workers enter Kuwait every day.

As per the estimation of Nepal government, around 200,000 undocumented female workers are in Gulf countries. A total of 7,865 Nepali workers entered Kuwait during fiscal year 2009/10.





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OTHER GOVT. DOCUMENTS WILL WORK -

Kathmandu, 4 Nov.: A-month-and-a-half-long dispute between the Election Commission (EC) and Madhes-based parties on the digital voter-ID cards has finally been resolved with the EC taking a decision to accept citizenship certificates as well as other government documents as the basis for the issuance of the cards, Ishwar Rauniyar reports in The Kathmandu Post.


Earlier, the EC had been taking the citizenship certificates as the only basis for the voter ID.

“The decision comes after a series of discussions with political parties,” EC Spokesman Rajendra Prasad Sharma said on Wednesday.

The EC’s move to prepare a voter list with finger prints and photos had been stalled by cadres of the Madhes-based parties since the project was launched in Sept. 15. They had been demanding that the EC accept other documents as well.

As per the decision, any Nepali having any government-issued document mentioning his/her birth place, permanent address, date of birth, age and father’s and mother’s name will be eligible to get voter-ID.

For people who cannot produce the documents, Clause 11 (2) of the Voter Registration Act 2063 states that if a Ward Office and municipalities issue a certificate to a person having a photo and details of the person as mentioned above, the EC will also issue voter-IDs to that person.

Likewise, anyone having a name in the previous voter list will also have to follow either the first or the second provision.

“The decision was taken as per the legal provision to make sure that no Nepali citizen is debarred from being registered in the new electoral roll,” Acting Chief Election Commissioner Nilkantha Upreti said.

Madhes-based parties on Wednesday hailed the EC decision. Vice-Chairman of the Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP), Brikhes Chandra Lal, said the Madhes parties will no longer obstruct the EC’s initiative.

The distribution of voter-ID cards has been halted in most of the Tarai districts including Mahottari, Nawalpari, Kapilvastu, Sarlahi, Bara and Rautahat.

The EC has so far issued only 850,000 voter-IDs though it was expected to issue about 1.7 million by Oct. 8.

However, the EC is yet to reach an agreement with the Sanghiya Limbuwan Rajya Parishad, an ethnic outfit operating in eastern Nepal, which has also been obstructing the voter-list registration for the past few weeks.

“Talks with Limbuwans are underway and we are trying our best to resolve the issue,” Upreti said.
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MAOIST CONTROL OF CANTONMENTS CAUSE OF TRUST DEFICIT: SITAULA

Krishna Prasad Sitaula, former Home Minister and a key interlocutor of the peace process is also a close aide to Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala. Sitaula spoke to The Kathmandu Post about the state of the peace process, government formation and about his own aspiration for the post of Congress general secretary.



How do you evaluate the peace process?



We have to make it work. But, as of now, there is a wide trust gap between the Maoists and other parties, especially on the issue of the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants. There is no prospect of agreement on the horizon. If the peace process doesn’t succeed, the future of the country is at stake. At present, the road map for success is non-existent. But that isn’t to say that there won’t be one. A breakdown of the peace process would be against public aspirations and no political parties, including the Maoists would want that scenario.



How can the process be expedited?



The ball lies in the Maoist court. They still believe in retaining the arms and army. They still control the cantonments. And, as long as this situation continues, there is no credible basis for other parties to trust them.

After the CA elections, Prachanda was allowed to become prime minister on the basis of a written agreement that within six months the issue of Maoist combatants would be settled. The constitution was amended to allow the Maoists to form a majority government. But in eight months of his government, he made no gesture to address the issue. Instead, he tried to remove the Army chief unconstitutionally. Now that has raised serious questions about the Maoist commitment. You have to ask why there was a two-year term for the CA in the first place. Wasn’t there an indirect assertion that the constitution drafting process would not be completed as long as cantonments were intact? There was a commitment to complete the integration process within six months, and the remainder of the two years was to be allocated for drafting the constitution.



What is your bottom line for consensus?



The Maoists should become a party without arms and armies. The command and control of the cantonments should be transferred to the government in practical terms. Number of combatants has to be fixed and separated from the rest into an integration cantonment, whose security will be overseen by the government. The rest will have to be grouped together in a rehabilitation camp, and their responsibility will have to be transferred to the peace ministry. The completion of integration may take few months; but, in the least, if the above-mentioned steps are implemented, it will create a

minimum basis for us to trust the Maoists.

On government formation, until and unless parties reach a consensus on fundamental issues of peace and constitution writing, NC will not withdraw its candidacy. That is our bottom line as of now.



The Maoists are concerned that if they hand over the control of the combatants to the government prior to constitution writing Nepal Army may be used against them. What is your view?



When monarchy was still around, the palace controlled the Army, but after its abolition, there is a civilian control over the Army. We accept that Nepal Army needs to be reformed but it has to be an evolutionary process and not a revolutionary one. We urge the Maoists to accept the rule of law.



.






Are the parties going to miss the deadline of May 28 again?



If the parties demonstrate responsibility, it should be possible to promulgate the constitution within the remaining time.



What’s your take on Maoist Chairman Dahal’s proposal for tripartite agreement between India, Nepal and China?



Nepali Congress hasn’t discussed the issue within the party, but on a personal level, I am surprised by the remarks. Nepal’s relations with India and China have distinct history and importance. To argue that they be treated in the same vein is simply impossible and illogical. I don’t know the exact context of Prachanda’s statement, but I don’t think a strategic alliance between India, Nepal and China is possible.



Are you going to be nominated to the post of Congress general secretary?



Naturally, I have an aspiration.

I wanted to run for the office, but I was advised against it. I know that the party president will use his discretion to decide who should hold the post.
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