RAM NAWAMI BEING OBSERVED Kathmandu, 19 April: Ram Nwami is being observed Friday nation-wide with devotees offering prayers at Ram temples to observe the Lord’s birthday. Devotees are thronging the Ram temple in the capital at Battishputali. Nepali and Indian pilgrims are marking thej occasion in Janakpur. Government has announced a public holiday. nnnn BAIDDYA UNDER FIRE OVER CENTRAL COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS IN CPN MAOIST Kathmandu,, 19 April:: CPN-Maoist cadres have expressed serious objection to names proposed by the party leaders as central committee members even before the names were made public, Kiran Pun reports in Republica.. Stating that the proposal is against the mandate of the generation convention, dissident party members said the party leaders have utterly failed to correct themselves even after the split from the UCPN (Maoist). This is the first major dispute within the CPN-Maoist after Mohan Baidya-led faction split from the UCPN (Maoist) to form a new party last year.“ "They repeated the mistakes committed by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai instead of making a fresh sta”t," said an eight-point protest letter submitted by the cadres to Baidya“ "This is a tendency to finally take a revisionism pa”h," read the letter. The dissident members not only expressed their disagreement with the party´s proposal of nominating additional CC members but also boycotted a function organized by the party at Shanti Batika on Wednesday in defiance of the party leaders´ instructions. The party is scheduled to make public the names of the new CC members on April 22. The dissident group has claimed that the leaders wanting to contest the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) polls have proposed the names in their ploy to garner majority in the central committee“ "We have submitted a protest letter to Baidya to rectify the move. We think the nominations would not send a good message and it would be difficult for us to accept ”t," said Sharad Rasaili, chief of All Nepal National Independent Union (Revolutionary), the party´s student wing. The dissident party members on Thursday morning met Baidya at his residence in Dhapasi and submitted the protest letter. According to leaders, Baidya assured the dissident leaders that he would discuss the issue during the office bearers meeting.“ "We will not participate in any party activities before the move is correct”d," read the protest letter. The dissident leaders are chiefs of the party´s sister wings, including Rasaili, Rukma Lamichhane, Shiv Kattel, Yogendra Kumal, Prem Darnal, Navin BK, Yubaraj Acharya,Krishna Adhikari, Shankar Adhikari, Manu Lama among others. Similarly, leaders of Bheri-Karnali, Seti-Mahakali, Tharuwan, Abadha, Newa and Madhes state committees have also joined the chorus with dissident leaders. Jajarkot in-charge Dhak Bir Rana, Dailekh in-charge Ram Lal BK and Sandesh Rana also have expressed dissatisfaction with the party´s move. According to the letter, the Newa committee has proposed relatives, mainly wives, of the leaders as CC members. From Madhes Bhojpura Dhiraj Patel and Rahim Ansari, who have already faced disciplinary action from the party, have also been proposed as new CC members. They had manhandled leader Badri Bajagain at the party´s general convention in Kathmandu in January“ "The party is currently mired in uncertainty and confusion. The situation will only aggravate if high-handedness of the party leaders continue. It is objectionable that the party has given priority to creating posts instead of bringing a concrete work pl”n," stated the protest letter. The dissident leaders have also demanded that additional CC members be nominated only through a plenum or a national gathering. They also questioned the integrity of party leadership accusing them of following UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal´s footprints. They also warned that it would be harmful for the party if posts are created unnecessarily only to retain members in the party. Both the UCPN(Maoist) and CPN-Maoist have formed jumbo CC to prevent party members from defecting to the other party. Nnnn BAIDHYA NO TO KOIRALA INVITE Kathmandu, 19 April: CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya has said he talked to Nepali Congress (NC) President Sushil Koirala on Thursday in the latter´s capacity as NC president and without accepting him as coordinator of the High-Level Political Committee (HLPC), Republica reports.. "I talked to Koirala as NC president, not as HLPC coordinator, because we have made it clear time and again that our party doesn´t recognize the committee as a legitimate body," Baidya told Republica. Koirala and NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel went to Baidya´s residence at Dhapasi on Thursday in a bid to persuade him to join the election process. Koirala took the initiative after assuming the role of HLPC coordinator. HLPC is headed by the chiefs of the UCPN (Maoist), NC, CPN-UML and United Madhesi Democratic Front (UDMF) on a rotation basis. Earlier, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had headed the committee for a month. Koirala had announced in public that he would try his level best to bring Baidya´s CPN-Maoist and other dissident political parties on board the election process once he headed the high-level committee. Koirala requested Baidya to join the HLPC to help settle election-related issues and to participate in the poll process but the latter turned him down outright. "We are firm in our conviction that the entire process of forming the present government and announcing new elections is based on wrong premises. First, this entire process should be scrapped," Baidya said. "We can join hands with them only after they become ready to start a new process." Baidya was accompanied by CPN-Maoist Secretary Dev Gurung. Baidya´s party has termed not only the HLPC but also the present government illegitimate. The party has announced it is not to hold any dialogue with the HLPC and the present Khil Raj Regmi-led government of bureaucrats. CPN-Maoist, Upendra Yadav´s Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) and the Ashok Rai-led Federal Socialist Party have announced a boycott of the polls to be conducted by the present government. They were against the proposal to form an interim election government under the leadership of the sitting chief justice. Baidya´s party cadres have disrupted election preparations being carried out by the Election Commission in several districts in recent days. The government earlier this month formed a three-member talks team headed by Minister for Home and Foreign Affairs Madhav Ghimire. The two other members are Minister for Information and Communications Madhav Paudel and Minister for Local Development Bidyadhar Mallik. The government earlier said it had dispatched formal letters to the dissident political parties to bring them on board. nnnn