not in national interest

CA VOTE NOT IN NATIONAL INTEREST SAYS CPN MAOIST CHIEF

Kathmandu, 3 July: Chairman of CPN-Maoist Mohan Baidya said the second Constituent Assembly (CA) elections scheduled for November 19 was not in the interest of the country and the people, RSS reports from Pokharaa.. Talking to journalists at a press conference organized by the party here Wednesday after the completion of the extended meeting of his party, Baidya said the extended meeting had been unanimous to boycott the CA elections. He claimed that his party concluded to boycott the elections after seeing no possibility to write a new constitution through the second CA elections. The meeting concluded that earlier 11-point agreement, amendment of 25 clauses of the Interim Constitution 2007 through ordinance on removing difficulties by the President were guided by the four-party ´syndicate´ and that the parties were undemocratic, unconstitutional and wrong, said Baidya. Baiddya stressed on the need of resolving current political impasse through a roundtable conference among the political parties and other stakeholders. He also objected the ongoing election process he said was moving ahead ignoring his party´s demand to constitute a unity government from within the political parties. Responding to media query, Baidya ruled out any possibility of his party’s unification with the mother party, Unified CPN (Maoist). nnnn
OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE A BASIC LAW SHOULDN’T BE MISSED SAYS GOVT. CHIEF

Kathmandu, 3 July: Chairman of Interim Council of Ministers Khil Raj

Regmi has said that the opportunity to draft a new constitution through a Constituent Assembly elected by the people should not be missed again, RSS reports..

He said, "As the CA would be drafting a new constitution, we should all work together to make the upcoming CA elections successful".

Initiating the 11th governing council meeting of the National Foundation for the Development of the Indigenous Nationalities in Lalitpur today by playing a traditional musical instrument, he appealed to all to get their acts together or the elections.

Stating that the present Government has been developing an atmosphere conducive to election by introducing the Ordinance on election regulations, announcing the date and maintaining law and order, Chairman Regmi urged political parties to also play their part towards that end.

He said that the government and the election commission are working to hold the elections in November 19 and urged all to ´understand the sensitivity of political stability´.

Equality, freedom and social justice are the beautiful aspects of a democracy, Regmi said while adding that the government would work to establish the necessary legal measures in order to enforce the ILO Convention 169, that Nepal State is party to.

He also assured necessary cooperation on behalf of the government towards addressing the financial and structural issues raised by the Foundation in the interest of the indigenous nationalities.

Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Bidhyadhar Mallik said the Government was working round the clock to ensure elections in November 19 and also holding dialogue with the dissenting political parties.

Minister Mallik said that the demand of the indigenous nationalities to maintain the same number of members of the erstwhile CA should be addressed by the political parties and not the government.

Vice-chairman of the Foundation Jag Bahadur Thapamagar requested for additional budget in order to expand the foundation´s reach through the establishment of offices in all the five development regions.

President of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) Nagendra Kumal warned of taking to the streets if the NEFIN´s demands including to maintain the same number of CA members were not fulfilled.

Former Ministers Indra Bahadur Gurung, Prithivi Subba Gurung and Barshaman Pun also urged the authorities concerned to address the concerns of the indigenous nationalities, who constitute 38 per cent population of the country.

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GOVT. WITNESSES START RECEIVING ALLOWANCES

Kathmandu, 3 July: The distribution of allowance for government witness in a State case, that the Nepal Government had announced a long time ago, has finally come into effect, RSS reports from Dhading..

The allowance distribution to government witness began from Dhading district today. On the recommendation of the District Public Prosecutor´s office, the District Police Office today gave away daily allowance and bus fare to four government witnesses.

Those receiving the allowance in accordance with Rule 15/3 of the State Cases Regulations, 2055 B.S. were Gopal Bahadur Dhakal, Damber Bahadur Dhakal, Chandra Kishore Neupane and Durga Bahadur Dhakal of Baseri VDC-5 in the district.

The provision of allowance was made in order to encourage witnesses to be present in criminal cases prosecuted by the state and thereby ensure justice to the real victims.

The daily allowance of Rs. 350 and bus fare will now be given to every government witness starting today, said district attorney Dev Kumar Giri.

On an average there are usually 500 government witnesses in a year and they will all be receiving the said allowance and bus fare, added Giri.

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