FINANCE MINISTER PUN DISCUSSES BUDGET WITH PARTY BOSS Kathmandu, 23 June; Finance Minster Barsha Man Singh Saturday discussed the forthcoming annual budget with his party boss Maoist Chairman Prachanda Saturday. The new fiscal year 2012/13 begins mid-July. In the absence of parliament after that government called constituent assembly (CA) elections 22 November, opposition says the government is a caretaker and can’t present a budget in parliament’s absence. Pun consulted Prachanda after a cold response from opposition leaders NC President Sushil Koirala and UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal. Opposition is wary government will promulgate through ordinance a populist budget at a time when the government without mincing words declared it will seek a two-third majority in assembly elections to enforce a constitution of its choice. There have been calls for a consensus on the coming budget. nnnn RACE TO FILL VACANCIES FOR TOP PARTY POSITIONS AFTER SPLIT Kathmandu, 23 June: NCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s bid to fill key vacant posts in the party after it split has hit a snag as the number of viable contenders has gone up unexpectedly, La,a; Dev Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post.. The posts of senior vice chairman, general secretary and secretary are now vacant after Mohan Baidya, Ram Bahadur Thapa and CP Gajurel parted ways to form the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist on June 18. Dahal held several rounds of informal deliberations, but failed to fill the posts as both his and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s candidates have been vying for the positions. There are at least five candidates for the top three posts. A leader close to Dahal said the task of appointing a general secretary has become tough. Three leaders—Post Bahadur Bogati and Standing Committee (SC) member Krishna Bahadur Mahara from the Dahal camp and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi from the Bhattarai side—have claimed the post. Since both Bogati and Mahara have remained loyal to Dahal in the party’s internal struggle, picking one of them has not been an easy job for Dahal. “Bogati is likely to be appointed vice chairman after Bhattarai, while Mahara is likely to be made the general secretary,” the leader said. Barsa Man Pun, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Giriraj Mani Pokhrel are on the list for the post of secretary, vacated by CP Gajurel. Politburo members Haribol Gajurel and Agni Sapkota are likely to be elevated to SC members on the basis of seniority. Dahal will have to make the appointments before the extended party plenum scheduled for July 16. Nnnn FORMER PLA FIGHTERS EAGER TO JOIN NA AFTER MAOIST SPLIT Kathmandu, 23 June:- Former combatants of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who are eager to be part of the Nepal Army (NA) after the November-December regrouping, are lamenting the delay in the integration process, The Kathmandu Post reports. The combatants said the protracted stay in the NA-supervised camps has left them in a state of utter ennui, and have demanded that the government, political parties and the NA expedite the integration process. "Two months have gone by since the PLA was handed over to the Nepal Army and the integration process still remains uncertain. This is unfortunate," said Sabin Buda Magar, a former PLA brigade commander at the Shaktikhor-based PLA camp of Chitwan. The fact that the former combatants are getting the same allowances and facilities that they used to get earlier is unfair, he said. "We demand that the allowances and facilities be revised since we are now under the command of the Nepal Army," he said. Five years ago, there were up to 7,000 combatants under the PLA's third division camp. Now the number has gone down to 626 and we are still getting the same allowance and facilities, said the former combatants. Former battalion commander Dipendra Bahadur Buda of the Dhasrathpur-based sixth division camp in Surkhet said that those who opted for voluntary retirement have already started their own businesses, while the ones choosing integration are still confined in camps. "We wwant the integration process to complete at the earliest." NA Major Dilip Kumar Basnet said the frustration among the former combatants is palpable. "They don't know how much longer they will have to wait," he said. There are 572 former combatants under the sixth division. The combatants under the PLA's fifth division camp in Rolpa said the political parties are hesitant to go ahead with the integration process. As the Special Committee for Integration has become dormant, they said they have been kept in the dark when it comes to their future. "We have no idea what's going on outside the camp. We don't know when the integration process will resume and no one has bothered to inform us on the matter," said Himal Pun, a former PLA deputy battalion commander. There are 523 former combatants under the fifth division camp. Similar is the plight of combatants from the first division camp. Many of them are pursuing computer courses and other skill development trainings to keep them occupied these days. Some combatants, meanwhile, harbour doubts about the completion of the integration process and believe that signing up for different training courses will prepare them for life outside the NA, if such a situation arises. "Who knows, we may be compelled to choose a new alternative since the integration process is not going anywhere," Limbu said. Many former combatants under the PLA's second division are regretting their decision to opt for integration. If the regrouping process is to be conducted for the second time, many would choose the voluntary retirement option, said Hemlal Subedi, a former deputy commander. After the regrouping, there are 359 combatants left under the second division. "We were expecting to join military training right after the regrouping process, but that did not happen and many of us are disappointed," he said. PLA's second division commander, Sharad, said they want the sacrifice made by the combatants during the decade-long 'People's War' to be recognised. "It is not good to keep us in a state of uncertainty." (Reporting by Binod Tripathi in Chitwan, Kashiram Dangi and Durgalal KC in Rolpa, Chetan Adhikari in Damak and Motilal Poudel in Surkhet) nnnn