PRESIDENT INVITES LEADERS FOR TALKS TO DISCUSS DEADLOCK Kathmandu, 16 Sept. : President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav has invited leaders of the Big Three and ruling Madeshi Morcha after a 15 September deadline to break a deadline to prolonged deadlock ends without a resolition. The main parties were discussing short revival of constituent assembly (CA) or elections for the assembly. The president is holding consultations with ruling parties and opposition after consultation with leading lawyers. Parties are involved in power grab instead of discussing CA revival or elections. UCPN Maoist has rejected opposition demand for the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to male way for a consensus government in what may be election year. Following the appointment of Bhattarai as a caretaker government 27 May ,a resolution hasn’t been found. An election ordered 22 November for CA won’t be held in the government announced deadline. nnnn NEPAL TO PLAY INDIA IN WOMEN’S SOUTH ASIAN SOCCER FINAL Kathmandu, 16 Sept.:Nepal plays India in the final of the Second SAFF Championship in Colombo Sunday in a rematch of the first tournament. Nepal topped Group B winning all its matches with Pakistan, Maldives, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Nnnn PAROPAKAR MATERNITY HOSPITAL CLOSED AFTER INFECTIONOR Kathmandu, 16 Sept.: Paropakar Maternity Hospital, the has halted admission of patients and surgery starting today [Saturday] for four days through a public notice, The Himalayan Times reports. The hospital administration announced that infection had been recorded in operation theaters and that admission of patients and all kinds of surgery would be halted for Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to disinfect the equipment and operation theaters. The hospital has transferred more than a dozen patients to private and the government hospitals in the Valley after the health condition of patients deteriorated due to infection. According to the Post-operation Ward and Maternal Intensive Care Unit, the patients were transferred to Kantipur hospital, Blue Cross Hospital, Patan Hospital, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Nagarik Hospital and Star Hospital. Requesting anonymity, a hospital source said surgical equipment had been contaminated. It has been learnt that Director of the hospital Dr Shila Verma held a secret meeting with heads of departments and asked them not to disseminate the news outside. Of the more than 100 new patients the 423-bed hospital receives daily, more than 25 undergo Caesarean section. Dr Neelam Pradhan, head of Gynecology & Obstetrics Department at TUTH said hospital should sterilise surgical equipment and wards regularly to prevent infection. She warned that infection could fester in the wound or result in urine infection or create problems in the blood and lungs after operation. Infection after Caesarean section is considered abnormal as patients are administered antibiotics, said Pradhan. nnnn UCPN MAOIST OPTING FOR CA ELECTIONS Katthmandu, 16 Sept.: UCPN Maoist is preparing to go for elections of the Constituent Assembly (CA) if the parties fail to reach an agreement on the assembly's revival soon, The Kathmandu Post reports. Although the party has kept open both options--CA revival and fresh elections--for “the sake of consensus”, leaders say the party will opt for elections if consensus on contentious issues is delayed. “We are preparing to take a bold decision in favour of CA elections if consensus is not forged within a few days,” said a leader loyal to party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. On August 29, major political parties--the UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML--had set a mid-September deadline to settle contentious issues. Parties had said they would go for fresh elections if they failed to meet the deadline. To take a formal decision on CA elections, Chairman Dahal is calling the office bearers' meeting in a couple of days. Though Dahal is positive about CA revival, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has pitched for elections, arguing that CA revival cannot end the political and constitutional deadlock. nnnn ATTEMPT TO GIVE NATIONAL CHARACTER TO JANAJATI PARTY Kathmandu, 16 Sept The dissident ethnic leaders from various political parties, who have been working to form a new Federal Socialist Party, are lately active to develop the organization as a broad and national political force, Tirtha L. Bhusal writes in Republica.. The leaders are in the recent days holding dialogues with various social groups and individuals so that it will not be construed just as an ethnic or regional organization. Amid long-festering differences with party establishment, a group of leaders from Madhesi, ethnic and indigenous communities from CPN-UML and various other major political parties have announced in public that they are going to form an alternative political party. While party Vice-Chairman Ashok Rai is leading the dissident group in the UML, several leaders from other major political parties have also expressed their serious differences with their party leaderships over federalism. The dissidents have been pressuring their respective parties to name and delineate provinces based on single ethnic identity but leaderships of parties including Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML have vehemently opposed the idea. Of them, the disgruntled leaders from CPN-UML have been actively involved in forming the new party and they are holding talks with dissidents from NC, Maoist parties and other political parties. "Dialogues have been taking place at institutional as well as individual levels and they are at bilateral, multilateral and personal levels," said CPN-UML Central Committee member Ajambar Kangmang Rai. Stating that the talks are at the preliminary stages, he informed that with some groups and political forces they have just exchanged their documents and are trying to find common grounds among the like-minded groups and individuals. UML Vice-Chairman Ashok Rai held a meeting with Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) Chairman Upendra Yadav earlier this week. Rai said they just discussed the possibility of working together on the issues that they have a common stance on, such as federalism. Yadav approached Rai and proposed to work together. "I told him that it is too early to talk over the proposal because we have so far not detached ourselves from the UML. We may work together with the forces such as MPRF if we form a new party in future," said Rai immediately after the talks. A leader actively in the movement said they are holding talks with a number of former lawmakers and central committee members from NC, both the Maoist parties and other political groups such as Sanghiya Limbuwan Rajyaparishad led by Kumar Lingden. Leaders associated with the proposed Social Democratic Pluri-National Party, which had unveiled its name and manifesto in August, are also closely working in the process of forming new party. Though the name and manifesto of new party was made public in August, they are yet to complete the task of forming the new organization. "Therefore, both the groups are most likely to come together while announcing the new party," said a leader closely involved in the movement. Dr Chaityanna Subba, Dr Krishna Bhattachan and Pasang Sherpa, among others, had worked while announcing the Social Democratic Pluri-National Party. Bhattachan said that they are holding dialogues with leaders of the proposed Federal Socialist Party among other various groups. They are also planning to include various social organizations working against all kinds of exclusion. "It may be any institution from Madhesi or dalit communities or any organization from Karnali working against regional discrimination," said Kangmang, who is working to form Federal Socialist Party. While they are holding talks with some ethnic groups such as Sanghiya Limbuwan Rajyaparishad led by Lingden in the east, they are also in talks with some leaders who are lobbying for delineating a Khashan province based on Khas [Bahun-Chhetri] identity in the farwestern region. Kangmang said former lawmakers and central committee members from Khas community associated with various political parties are in close dialogue with them. nnnn ________________________________________ MADESHI PARTIES DIVIDED OVER CA REVIVAL Kathmandu, 16 Sept.: Madhes-based political parties are divided over whether to revive the defunct Constituent Assembly (CA) or seek a fresh mandate to promulgate the new Constitution, Republica writes.. "Political parties must reach consensus on thorny issues in constitution writing," said Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Republican (MPRF-R) Rajkishor Yadav, adding, "Once parties forge consensus, CA should be revived for a short time to endorse the new constitution." However, Yadav, who is also the information and communications minister, said CA revival would not be acceptable to them before the parties forge consensus on contentious issues of the new constitution. General Secretary of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) Dan Bahadur Chaudhari, however, said they are open to both the options. "CA can be revived for a short time, if Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML show flexibility on issues of federalism and system of governance," said Chaudhari, adding, "If not, the country should go for a fresh election." Vice-chairman of Sadbhawana Party Laxman Lal Karna said if political parties fail to forge consensus on the number of federal states recommended by majority members of the erstwhile State Restructuring Commission (SRC), the party would go for a fresh election. “A new constitution guaranteeing 10 federal states should be promulgated, but if there are objections from political parties, it would only be proper to go for a fresh election," Lal maintained. Similarly, MPRF Chairman Upendra Yadav said there are no constitutional, political and moral grounds for revival of the dissolved CA. "The Supreme Court verdict and the interim constitution do not allow CA revival," argued Yadav, adding, "There is no alternative to holding fresh polls.” He also said that reviving the dissolved CA would not guarantee the new constitution as it had failed to promulgate a new constitution even during its four-year term. Central committee member of National Madhes Socialist Party (NMSP) Pramod Gupta said the new constitution should be promulgated by the new CA. "Our party is in favor of a fresh election," said Gupta. Nnnn ________________________________________