NEFIN GENERAL CONVENTION 11 MAY Kathmandu, 14 April: Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) will hold its three-day 8th national convention in Chitwan from 11 May, an announcement said. m the body said. Elections will be held for a new leadership. Leadersjip said NEFIN will demand revovai of the dissssssolved constituent assembly as constituent assembly election was unlikely soon nnnn. LIBERAL ECONOMIC POLICY FOR PROGRESS SAYS NC LEADER Kathmandu, 13 Apeil: Nepali Congress leader and former Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat has said that liberal economic policy was essential to lead the country towards economic progress, RSS reports.. Opening the second national convention of Nepa: Khala in the capital Saturday, leader Mahat stressed the need of motivating private sector for investment and bringing in foreign investment to promote nation's economy. Creating over five to six federal provinces were not suitable for the country as it would cause a burden to nation's economy, he said, underlining the need of maintaining ethnic harmony and national unity to make the country prosperous. Ethnic disputes and conflict be stopped at the earliest, he demanded. Also speaking on the occasion, former Minister Buddhiraj Bajracharya ethnicity-based federalism would not do any good to the nation. Development endeavours in the country have been negatively affected due to the conflict, he added. NC Kathmandu constituency No. 1 President Hiralal Tandukar stressed the need of carrying out feasibility study before federating the country. Nnnn MADESH VITAL FOR NC Kathmandu, 14 April: As the closed-door session of Nepali Congress (NC) Mahasamiti meeting in Trivenidhaam was dwelling on how the party could fare better in the next elections in Madhes, Arjun Prasad Singh, a Mahasamiti member from Banairniya VDC in Saptari district was listening attentively while sitting under a shed outside the meeting hall on Wednesday, Kosh Raj Koiala writes in Republica.. “You know we talk a lot about it in the party, but our leadership does not stand willing to do anything substantial,” he complained as Republica inquired if the suggestions made in the meeting would help NC to restore its past sway in Madhes. Singh in his late 50s shared NC had to face a humiliating defeat in Madhes--the traditional vote bank of the party-- in the last Constituent Assembly (CA) elections as the country´s oldest party has been labeled as ´anti-Madhesi´ by various opposition parties. “Worse still, nothing tangible has been done to brush aside those allegations put on us,” he lamented. Singh was not a single NC Mahasamiti member expressing such frustration, though. Many other NC Mahasamiti members from Madhes were miffed not only at the absence of Madhesi faces in the dais of this mega event, but their late leaders found no place in the party´s banners as well. “Our party considers Madhes as its vote bank. But it is ironical that there is neither adequate representation of Madhesis in the party´s decision making body, nor does our party bother to remember our great leaders from Madhes,” commented another Mahasamiti member sitting next to Singh. In fact, the dais in the Mahasamiti meeting was overwhelmingly dominated by leaders from the Hills. And the banner put up at the Mahasamiti meeting, likewise, displayed only late B P Koirala, Subarna Shumser Rana, Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Girija Prasad Koirala. “Why couldn´t our great leaders such as Durga Nanda Jha, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi, Ram Narayan Mishra, Rameshwar Prasad Singh and Surya Nath Yadav be remembered in a grand occasion like this,” the leader added. “They too devoted their entire life for the party.” While NC activist Jha was given death penalty over an assassination bid on late King Mahendra, who established party-less Panchayati system after disbanding democratically elected B P Koirala-led government, in Janakpur, Nidhi, Mishra, Singh and Yadav are known for their instrumental roles in establishing Madhes as the base of the country´s grand old party. Against the overwhelming majority seats that the NC used to secure in the election from Tarai-Madhes districts in all previous elections, NC was reduced to just 13 seats in various 22 Tarai-Madhes districts in the CA elections held in April, 2008. Keeping in view the declining popularity of the party in its previous stronghold, NC had put Madhes issue as one of the eight main agenda items for discussions during the closed session of the Mahasamiti meeting held in Trivenidhaam, Nawalparasi. Divided into 14 groups on zonal basis, each group of Mahasamiti members were asked to give specific suggestions as to what the party could do to revive NC in Madhes. Among other things, the Mahasamiti members had suggested to the party leadership to float concrete proposal on federalism in Tarai-Madhes, introduce new policies to ensure proportional representation of Madhesis in all state structures including the party´s core leadership. Also, each of those groups had demanded that party came up with new plans and programs to uplift the living standards of poor people living in the region. Mahasamiti members from Tarai-Madhes districts are optimistic that NC will be able to win big in the new election if the party sincerely embraces the suggestions that came in the Mahasamiti meeting floor. “Madhesi people have already seen what Madhes-based parties are really fighting for. Since they have done nothing except for using Madhes as stepping stone to power, NC is sure to secure majority seats in the election if the party selects election candidates judiciously,” said a Mahasamiti member Ram Paltan Sah. Nnnn CPN MAOIST INTENSIFY LAND SEIZURE IN KAILALI Kathmandu, 14 April: The Mohan Baidhya-led CPN-Maoist has intensified its activity of capturing land in the far-western region , Shivaraj Bhatta writes in The Himalayan Times. . CPN-Maoist cadres seized 60 bigha land belonging to Dev Bahadur Malla at Kailali’s Dhodhrapur and Tulsipur in Kotatulsipur today. A group of 150 Maoist activists led by area in-charge Kshitiz seized the land. They hoisted party flags on the seized land. “Our party has hoisted party flags in five kitta land,” Dododhara VDC in-charge Bikku Chaudhary said. Chaudhary went on to say that his party had seized the land after they came to know that UCPN-Maoist leaders were selling land on commission basis. The land was under the control of the then CPN-Maoist since 1996. Chaudhary charged that UCPN-Maoist had evicted the landless and freed kamaiya from the captured land and was selling it on commission basis. “We had settled landless people and freed kamaiya. It is not good to sell the same land on commission basis. We captured the land as per the party’s central policy,” Chaudhary clarified. CPN-Maoist Tharuwan state committee secretary Hari Gyawali said though the party does not have for its central policy the capture of land, regional commanders can seize land. “We have started the land capture campaign as land seized during the ten-year insurgency was being sold,” Gyawali added. Earlier, CPN-Maoist had seized 15 bigha land owned by Gajendra Chand at Kailali’s Lalbojhi VDC. Chand warned that more land would be seized in the days ahead. Landowner Dev Bahadur Malla’s son Birendra Malla said the seized land was registered in the names of his father, his father’s four brothers and their sons. Malla informed that they had tilled the land and planted wheat. Birendra expressed displeasure at the ex-rebels as they had not returned the property even though the former rebels had entered open politics. Kailali CDO Ram Prasad Thapaliya, however, expressed ignorance about the seizure of land. “No one has rights to capture other’s land,” Thapaliya added. nnnn