PARAS SHAH RETURNS TO CAPITAL FRIDAY

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 17 Dec.: Former Crown Prince Paras Shah, against whom the Bangladeshi son-in-law of Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, attempted to frame up a murder charge, returns to the capital from Pokhara Friday.
Rubel Chaudhary under the protection of Nepal’s virtual queen of republican Nepal and supported by her Nepali Congress, attempted to frame the charge at Chitwan where Paras had an altercation with Chaudhary Saturday at a restaurant in Tiger Tops.
But an attempted murder charge was first lodged in the central district only three days after the altercation.
Paras said Chaudhary came over to his table during birthday celebrations of his daughter and insulted him, his family and nation which he couldn’t tolerate.
Shah was later charged under the panchayat era draconian public offence act 2027 opposed by the country’s preset rulers.
Shah was released Thursday by the Chitwan district administration where district police charged the then crown prince; he was released on a surety of Rs 10,000 and was asked to appear again March 3.
Chaudhary, Nepal’s new virtual crown prince, refused to appear in Chitwan and was interrogated by police in the friendly warmth of the house of his mother-in-law on the capital in Mandikatar.
Paras, a Nepali national and now a commoner, had to depose at a police facility in Bharatpur and the district administration office.
There were protests against Chaudhary and in support of Shah
Wednesday and Thursday in various parts of the country.
Following the protests, the local administration Thursday has declared sensitive areas in the capital prohibited areas.
Chaudhary is a ghar juwai paid Rs 400,000 out of Sushma Memorial Trust run by Sujata in memory of her mother.
The trust money could have certainly been better used for social
Work instead of paying for the upkeep of Chaudhary..
Public demands have been made to investigate the suspicious
activities of Chaudhary for possible involvement in forging Nepali passports in collusion with a Bangladeshi gang and causing huge losses to Nepal Telecom by illegally diverting international telephone calls.
Government has also bee asked to investigate the status of his
stay in Nepal as a foreigner.
An attempt to malign Shah by Sujata, her family and Nepali
Congress has created a backlash even for the government which succumbed to pressure to act against the former crown prince.
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SPECIAL COMMITTEE MEETS

Kathmandu, 17 Dec.: A special committee on integration, supervision and resettlement headed by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal began meeting Friday.
A technical committee under it also meeting to draw up a
schedule of before UNMIN withdraws 15 January 2011.
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UML FINALLY ABANDONS
NEUTRALITY

Kathmandu, 17 Dec : The ruling CPN-UML has finally given up its five-month-old neutral position in the prime ministerial election in parliament, Republica reports.

The UML party has urged Nepali Congress (NC) leader Ram Chandra Paudel, the lone candidate in the prime ministerial election, to back out of the race, and it has also asked the UCPN (Maoist) to withdraw its demand for a special session of parliament.

"The UML makes it clear that the party will vote against Paudel if he refuses to withdraw his candidacy," said the party in a seven-point proposal passed by the central committee meeting held at the party´s head office on Thursday.

The party has emphasized the need to end the ongoing voting and elect a new prime minister through a new election process.

The UML also urged Maoist and other party lawmakers involved in petitioning President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav to summon the special session, to withdraw their demand, saying it would only further embitter relations among the parties. "Our party will stand against the Maoist proposal during the special session if the UCPN (Maoist) does not become ready to come to a consensus," the UML said.

The central committee, the all-powerful body of the party, has also requested Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to summon a regular session of the House soon with a view to resolving various political issues ranging from the prime ministerial election and amendment of parliamentary regulations to endorsing the annual budget, which was introduced through ordinance.

UML leaders, mainly those close to Chairman Jhalanath Khanal, have been emphasizing the need to amend the provision in the parliamentary regulations that require repetition of the voting until a prime minister is finally elected. UML leaders are for ending the process and starting anew if none of the prime ministerial candidates secures a majority in the House after the third round of voting.

The UML, however, has said it´s lawmakers in parliament would abstain from voting until the ongoing election process is ended.

UML leaders said despite the CC meeting´s unanimous decision to keep the option for a majority government open, they should not vote for any candidate as long as the present voting continues, because of the UML´s three-point deal with Maoist leaders. Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had backed out of the prime ministerial race after UML leaders promised not to vote for Paudel. "Voting for Paudel under the ongoing process would be a violation of the deal reached with the Maoists," UML Spokesperson Pradip Gyawali told Republica.
• Urges Paudel to withdraw candidacy
• Decides to stand against Maoist proposal in special session
• Requests PM for regular session
• Keeps option for majority govt open
But UML leaders will not remain neutral once the prime ministerial election enters a fresh process. "A leader from any political party -- except Maoist -- who can secure a majority can head the government," Gyawali said. He said the UML cannot accept Maoist leadership until the party completely transforms itself into a civilian organization.

Sixteen rounds of voting in parliament have failed to elect a new prime minister as the third-largest party UML remained neutral, saying a majority government would not be able to deliver peace and the constitution.

Earlier, the UML had proposed the conditional candidacy of its Chairman Khanal for prime minister, saying the party would support him only if he secures a two-third majority in the House. Khanal´s candidacy was withdrawn at the last minute on the ground that he failed to produce the support of 401 lawmakers in writing.

Following withdrawal of his candidacy, Khanal has remained adamant in his neutral stance while Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and KP Sharma Oli have been in favor of voting for Paudel and giving continuity to the present ruling coalition.
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