99 DAYS REMAIN TO PROMULGATE CONSTITUTION; DEADLINE UNLIKELY TO BE MET
By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 18 Feb.: Only 99 days remain to meet the second extended deadline to promulgate a constitution to institutionalize a republic declared by a self-appointed and unelected parliament.
The second deadline has to be met by 28 May 2011.
An elected constituent assembly (CA) couldn’t meet its first two-year dead-line 28 May 2010 and major parties n a dramatic midnight move nine months decided to extend the two-year mandate given by the people.
Maoist Chairman Prachanda, fearing the second deadline will also be missed, this week asked for a third extension this month but for two months only.
He said ‘people’ extended the second deadline while commemorating the launch of the 16th people’s war.
With Maoists again deciding Thursday not to join the government, hopes for promulgating a constitution by the end of May received a big jolt as the man opposition and the country’s biggest communist party said sought leadership of to complete the delayed peace process and draft a constitution.
Major parties differ on at least 80 contentious topics to be incorporated in the proposed constitution; it’s unlikely the UCPN (Maoist), NC and UML can hammer out their remaining differences in the remaining 99 days.
Maoists have threatened to intensify street movement if a constitution isn’t promulgated and the party has already started organizing political training camps for cadres for mobilization.
Clearly, the country is heading towards a crisis.
Senior lawyer Sindhulal Pyakuurel said Thursday parties are deceiving people by spreading the falsehood the second deadline will be met.
‘Even if a constitution is drafted, 10 weeks have to be given to get its endorsement from people whose suggestions have to be taken up by the assembly. This hardly leaves time for the assembly to incorporate the suggestions of people,” Pyakhurel said.
Parties have established a tradition to push and take illegal decisions to revive institutions that have completed their tenure.
In the name of democracy, they forced a constitutional King Gyanendra to take a ‘political decision’ to reinstate parliament that completed its five-year mandate,
That dead and unelected parliament, in an act of treachery, toppled monarchy.
RPP-Nepal Chairman Kamal Thapa has demanded fresh assembly elections which should draft a constitution.
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DILLI BAZZAR INMATE OPERATNG DRUG RACKET

Kathmandu, 18 Feb.: Police got hold of a drug trafficker about nine months ago and sent him to jail. He is currently doing time in Dilli Bazaar prison. But what has come to the fore suggests that the prison could not bar the drug trafficker from using the jail to his advantage to run a drug trafficking racket from behind bars, The Himalayan Times reports.

It has been found that Binod Kalwar, an inmate at Dilli Bazaar prison, has been mobilising his henchmen, through mobile phones, for trafficking drugs in Kathmandu. It came to light after a team of Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit arrested Shivaji Kalwar of Parsa with 155 grams of heroin from Maitidevi yesterday. The street value of the contraband drugs the police seized from him is to the tune of Rs 6.6 lakhs.

NDCLEU in-charge DIG Birendra Babu Shrestha said Binod, a drug kingpin, had long been warding Shivaji and others to run drug rackets. “We are alarmed by this revelation,” said Shrestha.

SSP Devendra Subedi said it came to their notice after Shivaji disclosed his ties with Binod during interrogation. “Shivaji is brother-in-law of Binod and they had ganged up to smuggle contraband drugs to Kathmandu and distribute them to underground dealers and sub-dealers,” said Subedi.

Dilli Bazaar prison has already earned notoriety for riots and lax security. Earlier, Jitendra Singh, who is serving life term here on the charge of smuggling weapons, was found to be mobilising his elder brother Ram Binaya Singh for trading in small arms. Peshal Raj Budhathoki had escaped the jail on August 14 last year. The Central Jail too has been in media headlines for security lapses. Tashi Lama doing his time on a bank robbery in the Central Jail was arrested last week from Durbar Marg with 15 grams of brown sugar, Rs 2 million and blank bank cheques.

But SSP Madhav Prasad Nepal, spokesperson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner’s Office, defended the security arrangements in prisons. “We are coordinating with NDCLEU to investigate involvement of Binod in operating drug racket from behind bars,” said Nepal.

But still, with the jailbirds using cell phones from the prison, the Nepal Police claims to have installed mobile jamming system have fallen flat.

“The system is not working properly,” said Subedi, assuring that departmental action will be initiated against those officials if security lapses were found on their part.
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