PARLIAMENT MEETS AGAIN MONDAY

PARLIAMENT MEETS AGAIN MONDAY

Kathmandu, 8 Aug.: NC Sunday it will continue to disrupt parliamentary proceedings until the a five-point tripartite agreement between ruling parties Maoists and UML and the main opposition is fully implemented.
The main opposition parliamentary party meet concluded Sunday beleaguered Prime Minister Jhalanath Khana’s assurance to announce his resignation in parliament was just a ploy/
Khanal, who is also chairman of UML,has also been
isolated in his party.
Khanal Sunday didn’t attend a meeting of parliament and a special committee on integration, resettlement and supervision of former Maoist fighters citing ill health.
He has been charged for indiscipline by disregarding a standing committee directive not to reshuffle his six-month government by bringing in a new Maoist government team led by third Vice-chairman Narayan Kazi Shrestha.
The team replaced a team led by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
UML central committee members last week attempted to prevent Khanal from chairing a committee meeting as critics led by former Prime Minister and KP Sharma Oli argued he has already been charged by a disciplinary committee
NC obstructed the legislative session for the 7th time Sunday,
A national budget for fiscal year 2011/12 has been approved by the house, but appropriations for different ministries earmarked in the budget haven’t been discussed.
The tripartite agreement was to have been implement by 31 August to complete the peace process and promulgate a constitution to institutionalize a declared republic.
Only three weeks remain to implement the agreement and the deadline won’t be met.
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NC CENTRAL COMMITTEE FOR DETAILED DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED SEVEN FEDERAL STATES

Kathmandu, 8 Aug.: NC central committee meet continues discussion Monday on a proposed federal structure for Nepal to meet to discuss a federal structure,
Committee members will present their views on a proposal to form seven provinces around the capital, two in the terai and four in the hills.
Details are yet to be formalized.
The main had earlier proposed
six provinces to the constitutional committee which has proposed
14 provinces.
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SLC SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMS MONDAY

Kathmandu, 8 Aug. This year’s SLC supplementary examinations begin Monday and will conclude 15 August.
Altogether 122,505 students are appearing in the tests.
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74 APPELLATE COURT JUDGES TRANSFERRED

Kathmandu, 8 Aug.: Seventy-four appellate court judges were transferred Sunday by the judicial council.
Dipak Kumar Karki, Giri Raj Paudel, Madhav Chalise and Prakash Kumar Dhungana have been nominated chairpersons of revenue tribunals of Kathmandu, Biratnagar Pokhara and Nepalgunj respectively.
Rajendra Prasad Rajbhandari has been appointed Chairman of Military Special Court and Meena Khadka Chief of Foreign Employment Tribunal.
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NEPAL MEETS INDIA IN SAFF U-19 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Kathmandu, 8 Aug.: Nepal plays India in the second semi-final
of SAFF U-19 Football Championship Football at Dashrath Ranghashala Monday.
Nepal topped Group B with a 60-0 win over Sri Lanka and a goalless draw against Bangladesh.
Group A winner Pakistan meets Bangladesh in the first semi-final.
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MAOIST CHIEF SAYS PM’S DECISION TO RESIGN A MISTAKE

Kathmandu, 8 Aug.: Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal has made a mistake by threatening to resign if there is no concrete deal on the peace process by August 13, Republica reports.

Dahal expressed this view during Maoist standing committee meeting at party headquarters Paris Danda on Sunday.

“The chairman stated that the prime minister´s announcement goes against the ongoing efforts to reach consensus on the peace process,” Maoist Spokesperson Dinanath Sharma quoted Dahal as saying during the meeting.

Sharma said the chairman believed prime minister´s promise has rather helped the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Madhes-based parties that are demanding immediate resignation of the prime minister.

On Monday, the prime minister had stated that he would step down if there is no agreement by August 13 on the contentious issues related to combatant integration, including the numbers, modality, standard norms, rank harmonization and rehabilitation package.

Party insiders said that the resignation threat has strained the relations between Khanal and Dahal, who wanted the current coalition to continue until a consensus on power-sharing is reached.

“But Khanal´s declaration to resign by August 13 has significantly weakened the chairman´s bargaining power,” said a leader close to Baidya.

The Maoists have forwarded the name of Dr Baburam Bhattarai as the party´s prime ministerial candidate. But NC President Sushil Koirala has publicly stated that his party would back Dahal as prime minister if the latter works sincerely for completing the peace process.

The party hardliners have construed Koirala´s proposal as influenced by India´s intention to "play" with the contradiction within the party.

“Sometimes they propose the name of Bhattarai and sometimes that of Dahal. India is playing on the intra-party contradiction through Koirala. So we will stick to our decision to forward Bhattarai as the prime ministerial candidate,” said a senior leader from the hard-line faction.

Spokesperson Sharma, too, said that his party has already chosen Bhattarai as the Maoist candidate for the post of prime minister, but added that the standing committee meeting on Sunday did not discuss the issue in detail.

Meanwhile, the organization department of the party, headed by Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya, tabled a proposal on sharing party responsibilities among the leaders. The proposal has been referred to the top office bearers of the party due to disputes over newly redistributed responsibilities.
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