ELECTION CHIEF BLAMES POLITICAL PARTIES Jathmandu, 8 June: At a time when some political leaders have blame the Election Commission for slow preparation for the Constituent Assembly election, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Neel Kanth Uprety on Friday accused the political parties of not hurrying towards the election as they have failed to forge consensus on electoral laws . "Why is the political parties' preparation for election sluggish though they decided to hold CA election one year ago," he wondered. At a programme organised by the National Election Observation Committee (NEOC) to launch books on electoral education and observation of elections in Nepal at the Election Commission on Friday, CEC Uprety said the EC has proposed the CA election date for mid November. He made it clear that the EC would wrap up the voter registration campaign by mid July. According to him, preparation was on for producing informative and educational materials on election as comprehensively as possible in diverse languages. But, the problem is there are many languages (spoken) that do not have a clear script, he added. Similarly, Uprety said EC was committed to holding the election in a free and fair atmosphere. On the occasion, NEOC Chairperson and former Chief Election Commissioner Surya Prasad Shrestha said the NEOC was keeping tab on every activity of the EC including the voter registration process lately. The voter registration must be fair, he pointed out. Lauding the election preparation of the EC, Shrestha blamed the political parties for undervaluing the election saying their political behavior is sometime adverse towards election and constitution. He underscored that Nepal's election system needs a review and that political parties should indeed remain aloof from the technical aspects of the election. Similarly, Professor Kapil Shrestha said free and fair election was instrumental to democracy. On the occasion, CEC Neel Kanth Uprety, NEOC Chairman Surya Prasad Shrestha and Professor Kapil Shrestha jointly released two books- Electoral Education in Nepal, and Review Report on Election Laws, Administration and Management. nnnn TWO NATIONAL CRICKETERS LEVE TO PLAY IN SRI LANKA Kathmandu, 8 June: National cricket players Binod Bhandari and Pradeep Airee let for Sri Lanka Friday. They will play in the U-23 inter-club cricket league. Their exposure to international cricket is expected to help improve standard of cricket at home. Nnnn HARDLINER GOIT ASKED BY JAYA PRAKASH GUPTA TO JOIN PEACEFUL AGITATION Kathmandu, 8 June: Coordinator of Tarai Madhes National Campaign (TMNC), Jaya Prakash Gupta, has urged Jaya Krishna Goit , leader of an underground armed outfit, to join a peaceful agitation by laying down the arms, Jitendra Khadka writes in The Kathmandu Post from Rajbiraj.. In a meeting with Goit last week, Gupta put forth three proposals before Goit including abandonment of armed agitation, demand for nation’s split and join a peaceful agitation. It has been learnt that the leaders have agreed to give continuity to their talks though they failed to reach any concrete agreement. Gupta said he discussions with Goit as part of his plan to build consensus for a peaceful agitation. Leader Gupta recently said that he has been making endeavours to bring together Madhesi leaders from Goit to Mahanta Thakur and form an alliance or a party. Coordinator of Akhil Tarai Mukti Morcha, an armed outfit operating in Tari, Goit has been saying that the rule of Nepal government in various regions of Taria on the basis of various treaties and historic documents was not legitimate. According to Gupta, Goit said that he would give up arms if the government showed readiness to hold open discussions on the issues raised by him and seek a peaceful solution to them. Gupta said a peaceful solution would be possible if the government and international community took up Goit’s ideology seriously and agreed to sit for a meaningful dialogue. Leader Gupta, who served a jail term on corruption charges, was heading the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Ganatantrik, a party that was formed after a split from Upendra Yadav’s Madhesi Janadhikar Forum in May 2011. Gupta later declared from prison that he had severed ties with the party. nnnn