BB AIRWAYS TI START FLIGHTS TO MALAYSIA, JAPAN Kathmandu, 25 July: BB Airways, a Nepali carrier promoted by NRNs, is immediately starting direct flights to Malaysia and Japan. It will start direct flights to Kuala Lumpur 13 September and two flights a week between Kathmandu Tokyo flights 13 October. The airline will operate Boeing 757-200 aircraft capable of carrying202 passengers. nnnn PRESIDENT DECLINES HASTYDECISION Kathmandu, 25 July: President Ram Baran Yadav told leaders of the United Democratic Madhesi Front that he would act as per the political consensus or the Interim Constitution and would not take any step that could invite controversy, according to Minister of Information and Communications Rajkishor Yadav, Ram Kumar Kamat • writes in The Himalayan Times... President Yadav’s clarification comes at a time when some opposition parties including sections of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML are anticipating some kind of action by the Head of the State against caretaker Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai that could make things easy for them to form a new government. Yadav, other front leaders Mahantha Thakur, Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, Rajendra Mahato and Mahendra Yadav met the President at the latter’s office here today for two and half hours and discussed political issues that confront the country. According to Mahato, the President urged the Madhesi leaders to try their best to win the confidence of the NC and UML to forge consensus on political issues. The President said consensus was necessary to protect federalism, republicanism and democracy – the major gains of the popular movements. “The most important message of the President was that he agreed with us to seek resolution on unsettled issues of the constitution before new elections are held and in the event of the failure of the same, fresh elections for the CA,” Minister Yadav said. The President said he wanted to live up to the expectations of people who want him to play a historic role on account of being the first President of the republic. “The President holds rational views on all contemporary issues and we are very impressed by him,” Minister Yadav remarked. The Madhesi leaders urged the President not to be rigid if the government decided to bring more ordinances to facilitate governance, said Yadav. “I do not think that the UML’s recent decision to reject the possibility of the CA revival has gone down well with the President,” he said. The President’s repeated emphasis was on the protection of the gains of the popular movements. According to Mahato, the front leaders told the President that change of guard alone would not resolve the current political problems and hence consensus on unsettled issues of constitution particularly federalism was necessary. “We told the President if the government was changed without settling issues of constitution, it could repeat the same experience of the 1950s when the government kept changing every 6-12 months but general election was not held for 8 years. The front leaders apprised the President of the resolutions passed recently by an all-party meet which suggests promulgating of a new constitution through a revived Constituent Assembly, holding fresh parliamentary election and leaving the 10-pradesh proposal (as suggested by State Restructuring Commission), for the new parliament to decide. “We told the President that if parties agree to promulgate a new constitution, we are ready to follow the five-point agreement and accept the leadership of the Nepali Congress,” Mahato said. The UDMF leaders also told the President that if opposition parties did not agree to promulgate a new constitution through a revived CA, then there should be fresh elections for the CA. • nnnn MAOIST CHIEF PLANS FOILED Kathmandu, 25 July: Unified CPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place, Tara R Pradhan writes in The Himalayan Times . After the seventh plenum which provided a platform for irate former combatants to hit hard on leadership over alleged fund embezzlement, Dahal today faced severe opposition from leaders after dispute arose over filling the posts which have remained vacant since Mohan Baidhya-led faction split from the party. Today's meeting of the national convention organising committee, which was formed during the plenum by dissolving the central committee, merely lasted five minutes after leaders objected to Dahal's bid to transfer in-charges of party committees. “Party is at critical and vulnerable state; the leaders cannot take any stern decision which could further irritate the already disgruntled cadres,” commented one of the members of the national convention organising committee. The meeting was postponed till Thursday. While commenting on UCPN-M's future course, Mani Thapa, a former Maoist member who has now formed Revolutionary Communist Party, had told this daily that infighting in the UCPN-M would only deepen when it came to distributing posts in the committees. And the same surfaced today. The party is planning to set up councils in the district, state and central level so as to accommodate disgruntled cadres who have been demanding promotion. The party needs to amend its statute for the same but the UCPN-M chair even failed to put the issue on the table. Tharuwan, Seti-Mahakali, Bheri-Karnali and Newa state committees, among others, are sans in-charges, as leaders holding the posts have left the party. Meanwhile, a source said the Baidhya-led CPN-M was preparing to get it registered. Talks were doing rounds that CPN-M was delaying its registration for two reasons: Either it wanted to keep the door for uniting with the mother party open or it was planning to go underground. nnnn