SANKATA, MACHINDRA MEET IN FOOTBALL LEAGUE Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: Sarashwati plays Madhyapur in martyr memorial A Division football league at Dashtath Rangashala Tuesday. Sankata plays Machindra in another fixture. nnnn GOVT. WITHDRAWS CRIMINAL CASES AGAINST TOP MAOISTS Kathmandu, 1 Jan.:: Five criminal cases filed against the Unified CPN-Maoist leaders and cadres have been withdrawn from Kavre District Court over the period of two weeks in line with the government’s decision to this effect, Raj Kumar Parajuli writes in The Himalayan Times from Kavre... Cases against Maoist cadres Shiva Prasad Dahal of Ugrachandi Nala and Ramdas Ulak of Khopasi were withdrawn from the court today, while three other cases against UCPN-M Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai, also the prime minister, and district leader Suryaman Dong were withdrawn 13 days ago. The cases were withdrawn as per the instruction of the Office of the Attorney General to the concerned Office of the District Attorney about a month ago. The government decision to withdraw the cases against ruling Maoist leaders and cadres has, however, drawn flak from human rights organisations. Police had arrested Shiva Prasad Dahal about 11 years ago over a robbery case in which Shiva Prasad and his men had looted property worth Rs 3 million from the house of Yaduraj Giri of Tukucha VDC. Police had recovered the looted amount and valuables. Shiva Prasad, however, was released in 2006 when peace talks to bring the then warring Maoists to mainstream politics were going on. Ulak was facing charges of staging blast and arson at the house of Nepali Army Col Baldevraj Mahat in Panauti Municipality about nine years ago. UCPN-M Chairman Dahal, along with 30 others, had a case against them in connection with arson at Agriculture Forest Foundation’s field office in Mahadevsthan about 11 years ago, Bhattarai was implicated in a case of explosion and arson at a police post in Mahadevsthan and Dong and 11 others were facing the charge of setting a bus on fire in Kunta about eight years ago. The Cabinet on July 27 had also decided to withdraw the case related to the abduction and murder of Arjun Lama, 48, of Chhatrebanj VDC, Dapcha. Lama’s wife Purnimaya on November 22 had filed a case against UCPN-M leaders Agni Sapkota, also the party spokesperson now, and Dong at the Supreme Court seeking a mandamus order. In response, the apex court on November 26 had issued an interim order to the defendants, including the prime minister, Cabinet, district police and district administration, asking them not to implement the government decision of withdrawing the case until a verdict on the writ. Charges they were facing • Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was facing an 11-year-old arson charge • Vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai Bhattarai was implicated in an 11-year-old case of explosion and arson at a police post • District leader Suryaman Dong was facing the charge of setting a bus on fire in Kunta eight years ago • Party cadre Shiva Prasad Dahal was facing an 11-year-old robbery charge • Party cadre Ramdas Ulak was an accused in a blast and arson case nine years ago Nnnn PASSPORT DEPT. FAILING TO KEEP PROMISE[ Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: Need a passport? Need it urgently? The Department of Passport claims that it provides you with the machine readable passport in seven days provided you pay Rs 10,000, double the normal charge. But the claim seems to be nothing but a sham, The Himalayan Times reports.. Bhuwan Silwal of Langi, Gorkha, today tucked Rs 10,000 into his pocket and visited DoP at Narayanhiti today, wishing to get his passport in seven days — through the fast track service. But he was shell-shocked when authorities refused to accept his application even though he was ready to shell out double the normal charge. Silwal was one among 200 passport seekers who could not submit their applications today. Yadav Khanal, acting head of DoP, said his office was not receiving applications, as the number of passport seekers in the last one month has grown exponentially. According to Khanal, DoP is getting more than 1,000 applications every day for passports through the fast track service. DoP receives fast track applications through three counters and it can manage only 750 applications a day. DoP said it has been manning all the three counters from 9:00am-9:00 pm every day, including on holidays, and processing around 1,200 applications a day on certain occasions. “With the current strength of DoP, it can only issue 1,200-1,300 passports a day and we are getting 2,500-3,000 applications every day,” said Khanal. “Half of the passport seekers opt for the fast track service. Despite our efforts, we are unable to receive applications.” Khanal added that applicants from Nepal’s missions abroad also have significantly increased of late. But the question still lingers. Why DoP continues to boast of the fast track service when it cannot live up to it? If it does not have enough human resources, why does not it take initiative to do the needful to this effect? Foreign Secretary Durga Prasad Bhattarai, who is in New Delhi, India on a personal visit, told THT over phone that there are two ways to address the problem: Extending the time of the fast track service or creating additional posts through a government decision for effective service delivery. So why does not DoP or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under which the department is, act? “We are trying our best to create additional posts to address the issue though,” said Bhattarai, adding that given the sensitivity of the document, the ministry cannot deploy temporary staff to issue passports. Why DoP getting more applicants The Department of Passport says there are three reasons for the rise in number of passport applicants of late. First, it is the peak season for foreign job seekers. Second, the South Korean government recently made it mandatory that foreigners applying for job in South Korea have to have machine readable passports, prompting many Nepalis to visit DoP for MRPs. Third, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself has decided to hasten the process of replacing the hand-written passports with MRPs, even though hand-written ones have the validity up to November 24, 2014. Nnnn NC. UML SEEK MAJORITY GOVT. Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: After several rounds of talks failed to yield any positive result, the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML are preparing to pile pressure on President Ram Baran Yadav to sack the government and begin a process of forming a majority government, Kamal Dev Bhattarai, Pranab Kharel write in The Kathmandu Post. . Key negotiators from the two opposition parties said there are no chances of consensus among the parties in the near future. According to them, the only option is to form a new government on the basis of majority in the dissolved Constituent Assembly (CA). The opposition parties are of the view that the President himself should complete the process of forming a new government as he had initiated it. “We are planning to mount pressure on the head of state to form a new government as per Article 38 (2) of the Interim Constitution as the parties have failed to form a consensus government as per Article 38 (1),” an NC leader said. Article 38 (1) calls for consensus among the parties. UML leaders also said there is a possibility of the President forming a new government. They, however, said that anything of that sort has to happen within the parameters set by Article 38 (1). “The talk for consensus among the parties was relative in nature. This means we can arrive at it even without Prachanda. Since the major parties have failed to give an outlet to the impasse, the President must hold consultations with more parties,” UML Secretary Shanker Pokharel said. Pokharel was, however, quick to add that the constitutional framework to be used was Article 38 (1) “as there is no possibility of invoking Article 38 (2).” Pokharel said his party will be supporting NC President Sushil Koirala as a consensual candidate. “But this has to be endorsed by other parties as well.” President Yadav had on November 23 initiated the process of forming a unity government after he set a seven-day deadline for the parties to find a consensual prime minister. The deadline has been extended six times, while consensus is still nowhere in sight.“For the protection of the constitution and to check the totalitarian activities of the government, the President must call on the parties to form a government on the basis of majority,” said NC spokesperson Dilendra Prasad Badu. He said opposition parties will hit the streets to make an environment for the President to sack PM Baburam Bhattarai. Echoing Badu, UML leader Pokharel said the opposition will be left with no option but to take to the streets “if the President doesn’t provide an outlet.” Even as parties continued to harp on consensus, they have taken no significant step towards that end. The parties failed to hold even a single meeting in the last extended deadline. As UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday flew to Thailand for his wife Sita Dahal’s treatment, chances of an early agreement are slim. Dahal’s fresh proposal to revive the CA if consensus is not had within January 9 has irked the opposition parties. Nnnn FAMILY MEMBERS SUSPCTED FOR MURDER OF GIRL IN RARA Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: Bara police have concluded that 16-year-old Bindu Thakur of Prastoka VDC-5 was murdered by her own family members, The Kathmandu Post reports from Bara. . Police Inspector Ramnath Ghimire told media persons on Monday that Bindu was murder ed by her father, Rama Thakur, and other family members after finding out that she was romantically involved with her classmate, Kundan Sah. As Bindu’s family did not approve of her relationship with the boy, Ghimire said, they killed her and then set her body on fire in the storeroom. Her burnt body was recovered by a bamboo grove close to the house on Wednesday morning. Bindu’s slippers were found outside her house. An empty kerosene jar was also recovered inside the house. Rama Thakur was taken into custody in the wake of the incident. He and the other family members have been claiming that Bindu had left the house on Wednesday morning for tuition class and that her charred body was found nearly an hour after her leaving. Inspector Ghimire said police were led into suspecting the family members behind the incident as their statements did not add up when they were interrogated separately. Based on the evidence gathered so far and the statements from the people close to the victim, the District Police Office has decided to keep Rama Thakur in custody for some more time. He was produced before the district court for the extension of his custody on Monday. He has denied the police claim arguing that there is no substantial evidence that could be held against him at the court. Meanwhile, women rights activists staged a rally in Kalaiya on Monday afternoon demanding stern action against people involved in Bindu’s killing. nnnn