FURTHER DETAILS OF REGMI INSTALLATION AMID PROTESTS Kathmandu, 14 March: Chief Justice Regmi was to be installed at 11 Wednesday night. He’ll head an election council to conduct election either by third week of Jue or November. Twenty-two parties are demonstrating in front of Shital Niwas to stop the installation. CPN Maoist vice-chairman CP Gajurel and General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa are leading the protest of the Maoist splinter group. Police attempted to disperse the demonstrators in front of the official presidential residence. Leaders of four major players haven’t reached Shital Niwas programme. “We condemn the move to install a government through direct Intervention,” Gajurel said. Three small parties overnight boycotted the cabinet saying they were not involved in the entire process to appoint the Regmi government. MORE PM BHATTARAI HASN’T RESIGNED AS YET Kathmandu, 14 March: The Baburam Bhattarai-led Cabinet today [Wednesday] endorsed a political document signed by four major forces and recommended President Ram Baran Yadav to remove hurdles of 25 articles of the Interim Constitution by invoking Article 158, to pave the way for the formation of a new interim election council under Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi, Ram Kumar Kamat writes in The Himalayan Times. . The Cabinet endorsed the agreement before midnight today and thereafter submitted it to the President. The Office of the President then issued a press release saying the four forces and government had recommended formation of a government under Article 38 (1) of the Interim Constitution. The Office of the President is now studying the document and the process will continue throughout the night, said Rajendra Dahal, adviser to President Yadav. “If it is found legally satisfactory, the President will invoke Article 158. Then the President will ask CJ Regmi whether he is interested to accept the offer made by the government and parties to lead an election council. If Regmi accepts it, the President will set the time for his swearing in,” Dahal said. After the meeting, Minister for Physical Planning and Works Hridayesh Tripathi said the Cabinet also forwarded the Truth and Reconciliation ordinance to the President today itself. Though parties were planning to hand over the government mantle to CJ Regmi today itself, it could not happen due to lack of time. CJ Regmi is expected to be appointed the chairman of the election council tomorrow, and he will take the oath of office and secrecy later tomorrow. Minister Tripathi said Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai thanked his Cabinet colleagues for shouldering their responsibilities. Asked if Prime Minister Bhattarai will resign, Tripathi said he had not thought about it at least for now. Meanwhile the Special Committee today gave the nod to Unified CPN-Maoist’s proposal to give one colonel and two lieutenant colonels to ex-fighters integrated into the Nepali Army, but has caveated it, saying they will get the insignia only after fulfilling necessary requirements for the job. SC member Ram Sharan Mahat said promotion of former fighters should not affect NA’s prevailing norms, rules and practices. nnnn