PRESIDENT AGAINST CONSULTING BIG THREE AND MADESHI PARTIES IN GOVT. Kathmandu, 10 Jan. President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav is holding consultations with the Big Three and ruling five Madeshbadi parties after the parties he assigned failed for the eighth time Wednesday to assemble a national government to und a successor of Dr.. Baburam Bhattarai. The exercise has become routine for nearly 45 days. Bhattara has been in office for more than 16 months hanging on to power with the help Madeshi parties. The president is holding consultations with other parties represented in the dissolved parliament Friday. The parties called for a new government to hold constituent assembly Elections which may not be held Aril/May with vacancies of commissioners in the election. Government hasn’t amended election laws to enable election as well. Nnnn MERCURY FALLS FURTHER IN VALLEY Kathmandu, 10 Jan.: The Valley’s temperature fell to -2 degrees Celsius Wednesday. Mercury rose to 16 degrees Celsius in the afternoon that day. Nnnn COLD WAVE CONTNUES TO KILL IN TERAI Kathmandu, 10 Jan.: A cold wave killed a 60-uar-old women overnight at a village in Saptari. The death toll in the district has risen to 22. nnnn o MADHAV KUMAR NEPAL SEEKS ALTERNATIVE TO SUSHIL KOIRALA Kathmandu, 10 Jan.:: Former prime minister and senior UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal today said the party should explore an alternative to the Nepali Congress candidate if it failed to create an environment for a national unity government. Speaking at the ongoing 19th central committee meeting of the CPN-UML, Nepal stressed the need to mobilise party cadres and sympathisers to encourage them to participate in the agitation to unseat the Baburam Bhattarai-led government and to ensure environment for holding fresh election. Although the UML has thrown its weight behind the NC to lead the next consensus government to hold the fresh election, Nepal said, “Other parties are not prepared to accept Nepali Congress leadership in the next government.” One of the central committee members quoted Nepal saying the NC has also not been able to muster desired support of others in its favour. Nepal urged the party leadership to find an alternative to the NC’s prime ministerial candidate Sushil Koirala. According to one central committee member, Nepal said they needed to educate people and party’s cadres as to why the UML should support the NC candidate if others were hell-bent on NC President Sushil Koirala’s candidacy. Today’s ongoing meeting witnessed discussions on the political report presented by party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal with most of the central committee members airing views in favour of courageous agitation. About a dozen CC members aired their views on Khanal’s report. Central leaders such as Ghanshyam Bhusal, Jagannath Khatiwoda, Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal and Rajendra Gautam said the UML should focus on agitation, rather than seek compromise to bail the country out of the current crisis. According to Khatiwoda, most participants stressed the need to intensify the agitation to safeguard nationalism. nnnn JUDGES APPOINTED Kathmandu, 10 Jan.: Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi headed Judicial Council today decided to appoint six Chief Judges to the Appellate Courts that remained vacant for the last few months, The Himalayan Times reports.. Meetings of the JC today choose judges Lokendra Mallik, Khem Raj Sharma, Om Prakash Mishra, Ekraj Acharya, Devendra Gopal Shrestha and Madhav Chalise for the post of Chief Judges. Sources said Chief Justice Regmi and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai opposed appointing private practicing lawyer and government attorney to the post of chief judge. This was the first appointment-related decision passed by the JC in the last two years. The judges appointing body, however, bypassed four senior judges — Rajendra Rajbhandari, Cholendra SJB Rana, Jagadish Sharma and Balaram Bista – who were supposed to promote to the higher positions in seniority order. “We choose more efficient judges to the post of chief judges,” Khem Narayan Dhungana, JC member told The Himalayan Times. “Now the CJ will appoint them,” he added. Rana has been facing charges in the Judicial Council over an allegation of favouring corrupt leaders when he was a judge in the Special Court while others have also been denied promotion but denied sharing reasons. He was forth senior most judge and Chalise was in tenth position but JC bypassed Rana. “Rana was denied because he has been facing charges in the JC,” another source added. The Supreme Court, eight months ago had instructed the JC to take action against Rana on the allegation that he had favoured former information minister JP Gupta while deciding his case when he was in Special Court. A division bench of Justices Sushila Karki and Tarka Raj Bhatta had directed the JC to take actions against him. Similarly, the JC had transferred Chief Judges Baidhyanath Upadhyay to Hetauda Appellate Court and Gyanendra Bahdur Karki to Butwal Appellate Court. After completing two-year tenure, Upadhyay and Karki were deputed in the Supreme Court for administrative functions. Similarly, Doti Appellate Court Judge Deepak Raj Joshi has been transferred to Surkhet. Dhungana said the JC will appoint appellate court judges soon. Nepal Bar Association opposed the act for not selecting any lawyer in the post of chief judge despite its public call in the vacant positions. “It is against our demand because we have been demanding fifty percent seats in every appointment,” Prem Bahadur Khadka, President, NBA said. “We will inquire about it and will take our positions,” Khadka added. nnnn