PM BHATTARAI, MANMOHAN SINGH MEET UPDATE

PM BHATTARAI, MANMOHAN SINGH HOLD
DISCUSSONS UPDATE

Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai held
discussions mainly on bilateral issues on the sidelines of the 17th SAARC summit in Maldives Friday morning.
They discussed follow-up measures to implement agreements during the just concluded Bhattarai to India, including the signing to avoid double taxation.
Nepal’s cabinet has approved the agreement after the premier returned home from India.
The agreement couldn’t be signed during the India visit.
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INTERNAL DIRECTIVE OF MOHAN BAIDYA GROUP TO FORMER FIGHTERS NOT TO OPT FOR VOLUNTARY
RETIREMENT

Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Maoist First Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya faction in UCPN (Maoist) won’t sent its combatants for integration, Gobinda Pariyar writes in Nagarik.
The faction has opposed the 7-point agreement in writing.
The group has concluded the l7-point agreement tantamount
to surrender of former fighters. The group has directed its
fighters not to opt for integration.
According to one leader of the faction, has sent a final directive to ts fighters in seven cantonments mot to opt for integration to obstruct voluntary retirement.
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FIRE BRINGS DOWN THREE HOUSES IN MORANG

Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Three houses turned into ashes when a massive fire broke out in Tankisinubari-8 of Morang on Thursday evening, RSS reports from Baragachhi in Morang..

The fire that spread after short-circuit in electric wire gutted the houses of locals Jaleswor Mandal, Dhanapat Mandal and Brihaspati Mandal.

Loss of physical property incurred due to the fire is estimated at around Rs. 700,000, according to Morang Police.

Police and locals doused the fire that started at around 6.00 pm yesterday.

All physical goods inside the homes have been completely destroyed. However, no casualty has been reported during the incident, police further informed.
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GOVT.MOVE MAY HAVE SERIOUS RAMIFICATONSl
Kathmandu, 11 Nov.:The Baburam Bhattarai-led government, it seems, has been successful in creating a spectacular tussle between state organs by taking a controversial decision of recommending amnesty to murder convict Maoist lawmaker Balkrishna
Dhungel, Ananta Raj LUitel wrtes sisn The Himalayan Times..

It is apparent that the decision is intended to drag President Dr Ram Baran Yadav into controversy, undermine independent judiciary and disrespect Parliament — the major stakeholders of an independent state.

Political analysts even go on to describe the episode as Bhattarai-led government’s ill-intention of stalling the peace process and blaming others for creating hurdles. “The Maoists want to drag the President into controversy. This has come at a time when the stalled peace process was getting momentum,” says Nepali Congress leader Ram Sharan Mahat. “This is an extension of Rookmangud Katawal episode, as it has directly attacked the independence of judiciary and undermined Parliament.”

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal as then PM in 2009 had taken the President head on by recommending sacking of Katawal, then Army chief, but following the President’s refusal to oblige, Dahal had resigned on May 4 that year. Result: Bickering among parties and stalled peace process. The culmination of this particular affair is yet to be seen, but it is certain that the move this time again will have serious ramifications, for Dhungel’s case has a meaningful relation with the ongoing peace process, and those advocating amnesty to Dhungel are sitting on the premise of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The CPA though mentions that ‘baseless and fabricated charges against Maoist cadres should be withdrawn, it is also imperative that the government duly follow the court orders, and in this particular case, Dhungel had stood an impartial judicial trial, following which he was convicted. After a court verdict, it becomes out of context whether Dhungel had personal reasons while killing Ujjan Kumar Shrestha back in 1998.

UML lawmaker Agni Kharel alleges that the Bhattarai government is trying to protect Dhungel because Dhungel belongs to the faction led by Bhattarai in his party. “This will not only create a serious problem among state organs but also will have an adverse impact on the peace process,” says Kharel.

The PM has also violated parliamentary norms. While informing House last month that Sharat Singh Bhandari and Prabhu Sah had been sacked, he had assured that the Cabinet would not move the Dhungel case forward.

Maoist lawmaker Eakraj Bhandari, however, says Dhungel’s case was politically motivated. “The charge against Dhungel was fabricated — a case that was a result of police atrocities and upheld by the judiciary. If he is sent to jail, several other Maoist leaders will go through the same fate, and this will be against our interest,” says Bhandari.

Then does it mean the Cabinet decision was prompted by the Unified CPN-Maoist, whose intentions regarding the peace process have been questioned time and again?
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