PRACHANDA CRITICIZES DEFENCE MINISTER;OTHER DETAILS

PRACHANDA CRITICIZES DEFENCE MINISTER BUT SAYS CONTROVERSY SHOULDN’T BE PUSHED FURTHER

Kathmandu, 2 Oct.: Maoist Chairman Prachanda criticized Defence Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari and Pahadi leader of ruling MJFL for threatening to
cessation of 22 of 23 terai districts but said prolonging differences on the call was useless.
“The defence minister’s party has already sought an apology
over the remark. It’s not good prolong the issue unnecessarily,” he told a meeting in Lalitpur Saturday.
He charged the minister for committing a grave mistake.
“The defence minister has committed a grave mistake. The government and political parties should make public their stance clear on the issue.”
The Prachanda statement came amid calls from a faction of his own UCPN (Maoist) on the government’s official position.
The group led by First Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya has taken to the streets protesting the threatened cessation. Deputy Prime Minister
Bijaya Humar Gachedhar, implicitly referring to the Baidya criticism, said street protests won’t pull down his government.
Bhandari threatened cessation with continued criticism and opposition of a four-point agreement between Maoists and five Madeshbadi parties that opened the door for a coalition between UCPN (Maoist) and the terai-based parties.
Maoists conceded regional demands of the parties, even mass integration of Madeshis in Nepal Army (NA), without the conclusion of a peace process by integrating 19,000 former Maoists in state agencies.
The process has been delayed for years with the continued transition but procedures and processes for recruitment of Madeshis in NA has begun one month after the conclusion of a four-point agreement.
The Bhandari statement has been denounced by major parties, including his own and was personally apologetic as well.
MJFL of Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar criticized Bhandari but smoothened his criticism for the use of words in making the controversial statement.
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TWO INDUSTRIES CLOSED BY WORKERS SOON AFTER
AGREEMENT NOT TO STRIKE FOR FOUR YEARS

Kathmandu, 2 Oct.: Two industries were shut down immediately after an agreement between government and five trade unions affiliated with major parties not to forcibly close down industries for four years.
Workers have shut down the National Soap Industries in Hetauda and Sungold Brewery in Nawalparasi.
Minimum salary of workers was fixed to secure the accord.
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NEPAL, BIHAR NEED EACH OTHER
Kathmandu, 2 Oct.: The eastern Indian state of Bihar and Nepal complement each other and are vital for one another's prosperity, according to high level officials of the Bihar government, Mahesh Acharya writes in
The Kathmandu Post from Patna.
Once seen as a fragile and 'sick' state, Bihar has now become the fastest growing state of India and it shares a 1850-km border with Nepal.
"Without Nepal, Bihar cannot meet its requirements, and vice-versa," the state's Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said.
During discussions, local experts and high-level government officials, including Yadav, concurred that apart from the extraordinary relationship India and Nepal share at large, Bihar has more stake in Nepal as a bordering area and due to its larger cross-border interaction.
Though also raising issues of cross-border trade and investment and threats poised by cross-border crimes, the officials mainly focused on the urgency to manage water resources for mutual benefit.
"Bihar is badly hit by power crisis. Proper exploitation of water resources by Nepal will benefit both sides," Yadav argued. "Bihar will be the biggest market for Nepal's power sale and this will bring prosperity to both the sides."
The common waters shared by Nepal and Bihar have not only the potential to usher prosperity, but many a times, they have become the source of suffering for both the sides.
"Efforts to solve water-related problems like flooding have hit a snag due to non-cooperation from the centre and the political instability in Nepal," Bihar's Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said.
A seemingly farsighted Bihar's incumbent government is also mulling mutual advantages while addressing the possible food crisis in the region.
"Nepal and Bihar are in the region of the fastest growing economies and the most populous region. Undisputably, food crisis is going to be a major challenge in a few years to come," Yadav said.
"The proper use of water that emerges from the Himalayas in Nepal will help irrigate land and boost agro-based industries of both the sides and increase productivity, which will eventually help both the sides prosper," he added.
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DEUBA DEMAND PACKAGE TO WITHDRAW RESIGNATION
Kathmandu, 2 Oct.: Concluding that Nepali Congress (NC) President Sushil Koirala is consciously "reneging" on his past commitments, senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba has made up his mind not to settle for any piecemeal solution to the factional skirmishes, The Kathmandu Post reports.
Leaders close to Deuba said his new bottom line for withdrawal of his resignation was a "package deal" on all pending issues, including nominations in the remaining vacant positions at the Central Working Committee (CWC) and other departments. Deuba resigned as CWC member on Wednesday following differences over the dissolution of four sister wings. Koirala has not approved Deuba's resignation yet.
Deuba is unlikely to withdraw his resignation even if Koirala agrees to adopt the "middle path" on reactivating the four sister organisations as proposed by the joint taskforce, said NC leader Gopal Man Shrestha, a member in the mechanism from the Deuba camp.
The package deal, according to leaders, should include agreement on appointment of chiefs and members in over two dozen departments under CWC, nominations of five remaining CWC members, formation of Karya Sampadan Samiti (Central Level Execution Committee), and Parliamentary Board.
"We would like the president to sort out all these issues in a package as there is no point dealing with individual issues," said a Deuba confidante. "If we settle one issue today, there will be another the next day. That's what we have been witnessing since the general convention last year."
The Koirala faction, however, is in no mood to accept Deuba's bottom line and discuss about the package deal. Koirala is not prepared for any compromise with the Deuba faction, said a leader close to Koirala. "It will be settled after Dashain," he said.

The Deuba faction is ready to allow Koirala to appoint a majority of the members in these vacant positions if the latter agrees to be "little accommodative". Deuba is expecting to bring in his men in the remaining five positions in the CWC.
The Koirala faction, however, believes that it is the president's prerogative to nominate 20 of the 84 members in the CWC. Koirala has appointed only two -- Deuba and Bimalendra Nidhi -- from the Deuba camp.
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