SUSHIL KOIRALA CONSULTS CLOSE COLLEAGUES
Kathmandu, 28 Sept.: One day after senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba resigned from NC central committee, party President Sushil Koirala Thursday morning consulted close central leaders on how to tackle the situation.
Deuba is holding a separate meeting with his supporters Thursday as well.
The three-time former prime minister was nominated central committee member after Koirala was elected by a general convention one year ago.
Sushil succeeded his cousin Girija Prasad Koirala as party chief as Deuba attempts to himself ass party leader.
Deuba is exerting pressure on Koirala to reinstate sacked executive committee members of four fraternal wings of the after their elected tenures were completed.
Koirala overturned suggestions of a body suggesting executive chiefs should be retained to conduct elections forcing Deuba to quit.
Deuba charged Koirala for attempting to run the party unilaterally and argues the party can’t sacked elected officials.
The senior party leader said a repeat split in the party’s won’t recur.
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PRESIDENT VISITING QATAR
Kathmandu, 29 Sept.: President Dr. Ram BaranYadav will pay a four-day stat visit of Qatar from 10 October soon after Dasain, foreign ministry said.
Agreements on investments, civil aviation and labour facilities are being during the visit, the foreign ministry said.
An estimated 400,000 Nepalis work in Qatar and more could get job opportunities following the visit.
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YAMI NOW WANTS CHEAPER CAR
Kaathmandu, 29 Sept.: UCPN (Maoist) leader and wife of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, Hisila Yami, has asked Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire to arrange for an India-made Bolero or another cheaper car for her, reports The Kathmandu Post.
The Post ran a news report on Wednesday that said Yami was flouting the government’s austerity drive championed by her husband by demanding luxurious cars from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“I have sent a message to the chief secretary to arrange for a Bolero or a cheaper car for me as the current (another Prado used by former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala) is not functioning well,” Yami told The Post, adding that she had never demanded a Toyota Prado car.
Ghimire, however, refused to comment on the issue. The Bolero costs Rs 3 million approximately. The government’s austerity directives introduced by the PM forbids the purchase of vehicles that cost over Rs 3 million even for government secretaries and ministers.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the BBC Nepali Service on Wednesday, Bhattarai was asked to clarify his wife’s demand for luxurious cars.
In response, Bhattarai said there was a premeditated attempt in the media to tarnish his government’s image.
He, however, added that he will spare no one if found guilty. “I am worried and I will not tolerate such things if enough evidence is produced before me,” Bhattarai said.
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RIFT IN MAOIST CAMP COULD WEAKEN PARTY HOLD IN TERAI
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Kathmandu, 29 Sept.: With the hard-line faction of the UCPN (Maoist) upping its ante against the four-point agreement signed between the party and the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha, there are speculations that the government might face tough time in the coming days due to the growing dissidents, Pranab Kharel/ Kamal Dev Bhattarai write in The Kathmandu Post.
The Baidya faction has demanded scrap of the “anti-national” deal, arguing that it would lead the country to “Sikkimisation”. However, members of the coalition rule out the possibility of the statement affecting it. “Morcha reached the agreement with the Maoist faction, which, like the Morcha itself, stood for the middle path on issues of peace and constitution,” said Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Nandan Dutt. He added that the four-point pact was signed with full knowledge of the Baidya faction. Dutt also said the government would complete its mandated tasks of furthering peace and constitution writing.
Echoing similar views, Local Development Minister Top Bahadur Rayamjhi said Baidya's statement was his personal and that it had nothing to do with the government. He dubbed the statement of the Baidya camp reflective of the “Panchayat-era nationalism”.
Asked whether this statement and the subsequent move of the Baidya faction would affect the party's hold in Madhes, Rayamajhi ruled out such possibilities. However, observers believe that this might affect the party's position in the southern plain. Analyst and Madhesi affairs watcher Chandra Kishore says that the statement and the moves of the Baidya faction could hamper the party in the region, where they have been trying to consolidate their hold. “The alliance between the Morcha and the Maoists is an attempt on the part of the latter to gain grounds in Madhes,” states Kishore. As the party is weaker in the region in terms of organisation, the Maoists have been trying to forge alliance with the Madhes-based parties, he argued.
Crucial CC meet put off again
The widening rift within the UCPN (Maoist) seems to linger as the party's crucial Central Committee (CC) meeting slated for September 30 has been postponed. Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal put off the meeting after he failed to cajole the miffed Mohan Baidya faction into supporting his peace mission. The CC meeting was expected to take a call on the contentious issues of the peace process, including the Baidya camp's demands. Leaders say Dahal decided to postpone the meeting citing the lack of time to do homework to resolve the intra-party differences.
The Baidya faction has been opposing the party's decision to hand over keys of arms containers to the Special Committee and the four-point deal signed between the government and the Madhes-based parties. According to leaders, Dahal has concluded that the CC meeting that was scheduled to begin on September 30 could neither unite the party nor split it, but indecision would prevail in the party.
Earlier, the CC meet scheduled for September 19 was postponed, as Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai had to leave for New York to attend the 66th General Assembly of the United Nations. Politburo member Haribol Gajurel said it was meaningless to hold the meeting on September 30 in view of the upcoming Dashain festival. The non-Maoist parties are calling on the Maoists to solve the internal dispute to take the peace and constitution-writing processes ahead.
The Maoists' 45-day plan to accomplish the peace process has hit a snag due to objection from the Baidya faction on several issues. The rift became more conspicuous after the Baidya camp spoke against the government in the parliament.
Maoist Standing Committee member Top Bahadur Rayamajhi said the government would move ahead as per the decision of the earlier CC meeting. “The CC meet that concluded on August 22 had decided to concentrate all efforts on peace and constitution, so we will move ahead according to that decision,” said Rayamajhi.
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