.CHIEF JUSTICE TO TAKE UP LEADERSHIP OF ELECTION GOVT. Kathmandu, 25 Feb.. Chief Justice, Khilraj Regmi, is seen positive to taking up the leadership of an election government, RSS reports.. Regmi showed the positive signal for the leadership in a meeting held with top leaders of four major political powers including the United Madhesi Democratic Front (UDMF), on Monday morning. The meeting that took place at the Army Integration Special Committee Secretariat at Naya Baneshwar held on Sunday evening decided to urge the Chief Justice today for the last time to assume the leadership of an election government. As per the decision, the top leaders of the four major political parties went to meet Regmi to urge him for taking the leadership of an election government. The meeting was held at the official residence of the Prime Minister. During the meeting, Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai raised some political and constitutional questions, it is learnt. Talking to media persons after the meeting, Coordinator of the United Democratic Madhesi Forum and Deputy Prime Minister, Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, said that Regmi seemed positive on the proposal put forth by them. Gachchhadar said that the CJ has raised some issues which should be settled before taking the leadership of an election government and expressed the belief that a meeting of top leaders scheduled to be held this afternoon would finalize it. He said open discussions were held with the CJ and added that he was positive to taking up the leadership of an election government which is to be formed in order to hold election of the Constituent Assembly (CA). Now, there was no doubt for the CJ-led government and a meeting of top leaders scheduled for this afternoon would take a concrete decision on it, it is learnt. Present in the meeting were Chairman of the UCPN-Maoist, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Vice-Chairman and Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML Chairman, Jhalanath Khanal and Coordinator of the Madhesi Morcha, Gachchhadar. Nnnn1 BIRD FLU BROUGHT BY SIBERIAN BIRDS Kathmandu, 25 Feb.: : Director at the Department of Livestock Service(DoLS), Dr Nar Bahadur Rajwar, has said the Siberian birds coming to Nepal in the cold season have transmitted the bird flu to the fowls here, RSS reports from Hetauda.. Speaking at a programme organized by the Central Regional Directorate of Livestock Services here, Dr Rajwar said the Siberian birds of some 800 species that wander for three months in Nepal´s national parks and ponds spread the flu in domestic fowls of Nepal. Ducks are the first victims of flu from the Siberian birds. The disease gradually spreads to other domestic birds. However, the wandering birds and ducks are not affected with the bird flu virus. Reasoning this, he suggested the farmers not to keep the duck and chicken together. On the occasion, Regional Director Dr Damodar Sedai said although the bird flu virus is spread up to 3 kilometer of any area, only infected chicken were culled due to some compulsions. Nnnn NO ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN JUNE Kathmandu, 25 Feb.: The possibilities of holding fresh Constituent Assembly (CA) elections by early June have effectively ended with the Supreme Court on Sunday issuing a show cause notice to the government, Baadra Sharma writes in The Kathmandu Post.. The notice questions the relevancy of a Chief Justice-led government and will buy more time for the government to clear the existing hurdles. All this means deferring the June polls for another date, according to Election Commission (EC) officials. With the protracted impasse, even top leaders of the major political forces, who had initially vowed to hold the polls in early June, seem to have lost hopes. While the parties and the bureaucrat-led EC have not officially ruled out the possibility of polls this year, they do not seem optimistic too. “Elections will neither happen in June nor in November. If they do happen, it will be in April 2014,” a leader quoted UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal as telling Sunday’s four-party meeting. Expressing reservations over Dahal’s remarks, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML leaders questioned the Maoist party’s intention in floating the CJ led government proposal. “The party has not floated the proposal with the intention of holding polls in June, so I do not see any such possibility for June,” said UML leader Bhim Rawal. The NC, too, does not seem positive on holding polls in June. “The delay in forming the election government and removing constitutional and legal hurdles has ended possibilities for polls in early June,” said NC leader Bimalendra Nidhi, who is also a member of a cross-party taskforce formed to clear constitutional and legal hurdles for the polls. The EC, which is already suffering from an acute leadership crisis, has internally concluded that polls will not happen in June. The apex court’s order and its scheduled hearing for March 7, according to EC officials, have ended poll the possibilities. Around two weeks ago, the EC had concluded that holding polls in early June was unlikely, but not impossible. According to EC officials, the delay in forming an election government, appointing commissioners to the EC and clearing constitutional and legal hurdles have delayed the polls. “Key actors required for the polls—political parties and government—remained completely indecisive in forming a government and addressing our demands,” said the officials. Even if the court favours a CJ-led government and parties form such a government the same day, the EC will lack enough time to prepare for the elections in June 5, as clearing the existing hurdles will take some more time. Even if the government is formed in March, only 90 days will be left for the EC to make preparations. The EC usually requires 120 days for poll preparations, but it had said that it would be able to hold polls within 92 days. The government, however, has planned to defer the polls to November. “Even if holding polls is not possible in June, the government will announce another poll date in November,” said Devendra Poudel, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s political advisor. nnnn