SHARE PRICES STABLE Kathmandu 31 May: Share price was stable on the last day of five-day weekly trading Thursday. Nepse closed at 500.13 points as share prices fell 0.63 points. Shares of hydro power and insurance companies gained. Altogether 617,157 shares were traded for Rs.207.568 million in 1192 transactions. nnnn NO RETREST ON ISSUE OF 33% WOMEN REPRESENTATION Kathmandu, 31 May: UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ Thursday said that his party would not retreat from the commitment made by the top leaders of four political parties in the past to ensure 33 per cent women participation in upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) election, The Rising Nepal reports.. Speaking at a programme entitled “Collective Campaign on Women’s Proportionate and Inclusive Participation in Upcoming Election” here, he said that the meeting of High-Level Political Committee (HLPC) would put all its efforts to give election-related laws final shape on Thursday’s meeting as much as possible. “The political parties are committed on ensuring 33 per cent of women participation in the upcoming CA by either reserving certain constituencies for women or increasing numbers of women in proportionate seats or through other measures,” he reiterated. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Commissioner of Election Commission (EC) Nilkantha Upreti opined that women participation could be ensured not only 33 per cent but as much as 50 per cent if the election date was announced on Friday if not on Thursday by resolving contentious issues. “The political parties should put efforts on resolving differences to institutionalize past achievements,” he said, adding that the EC was just body to just facilitate the technical aspects to hold CA election. Similarly, CPN-UML vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam said that the parties were seriously giving thought to allocate certain constituencies for only women to make sure that they represent one-third majority in the CA. He said that a society and a country could not advance without equal representation of men and women. Nnnn GET MAJOPRITY AT ANY COST SAYS MAOIST CHIEF Kathmandu, 31 May: Chairman of the UCPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda Thursday said that his party was formulating an economic policy that suits the country’s need and soil, The Rising Nepal reports. "To bring about prosperity in Nepal, the party has taken the strategy of linking party and the common people with the production system by promoting cooperatives, group partnerships and the domestic and foreign private investments," said Prachanda while instructing the entrepreneurs affiliated to Federation of National Industries and Commerce (FNIC) here. The party has approved the strategy of production, development and management with a view to preventing the party colleagues from turning bourgeois, he said. Prachanda said that the country could not be taken on the right track through the classical Marxian philosophy. "There needs ideological development in Marxism as per the changing national and international circumferences." FNIC is the association of industrialists and traders affiliated to UCPN -Maoist. He stressed that his party should garner majority in the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) elections at any cost. "The party lacked experiences when I took on the mantle of government and the government under party vice chairman Baburam Bhattarai had to confront a lot of problems. Now the party has collected experience of running the state and we need majority in the election to form the government and run it as per the people's aspirations", he said. He said that the party was busy in poll campaign to secure majority in the election. Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said that the semi-feudal structure of the society almost ended so the party had focused on developing capitalism to take the country on the path of socialism. "For making the country prosperous in short time, we need huge amount of investment which could not be fed from the national economy and needs foreign capital to bridge this gap," he said. Another vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha stressed on involving women in entrepreneurial activities. "Although Nepali women work hard, the country has yet to get the return from their works due to the lack of strategy to link their labour in production system," he said. Women leader Urmila Aryal and economists Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry, Y B Thapa, Dr. Chandra Kanta Poudel and Bijayaman Singh also addressed the gathering. Hundreds of pro-Maoist entrepreneurs from across the country were present in the orientation. nnnn