MAS DEFECTIONS

MASS DEFECTION FROM UML IN GULMI
Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: In a mass defection ro UCPN Maoist , 55 UML activists quiot UML in Gulmi Saturday as the 19 November second assembly election approaches.
District Dalit leader Ganesh Bishwokarma was among those who defected.
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MEDIA GOOGLE .


"It is out of ill intentions that the CDC has recommended keeping the existing 240 constituencies intact, While we will press constantly for our demands, we won´t disrupt the electoral process scheduled for November."
(TMLP Spokesman Sarbendra Nath Sikla , Republica, 11 Aug.)
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DARJEELIG BANDH DECLARED ILLEGAL
Kathmandi, 11 Aug.::- Two top GJM leaders were arrested on Saturday on the eighth day of the indefinite bandh in Darjeeling hills taking the total number of those booked to 150, PTI reports from Darjeeling..
Police said Mahendra Pradhan, a council member of the Gorkha Territorial Administration and Narayan Pradhan, president of the GJM Darjeeling Town Committee, were arrested in connection with old cases.
Mahendra Pradhan was picked up from his home at Sonada, near Darjeeling during the day in a drive by the police headed by the SP Kunal Agarwal, while Narayan Pradhan was taken into custody in the early hours from the town. Mahendra Pradhan is the third GTA member to be arrested by. The two others were Atin Thapa and Praksh Gurung.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, during the day, declared the indefinite bandh in Darjeeling to demand Gorkhaland as illegal and gave a 72-hour deadline for its withdrawal. A defiant GJM has said it will call a 'janata curfew' and its members held protest gatherings at varous places in the hills and shouted anti-government slogans.
Darjeeling bandh declared illegal
Armed with a Calcutta high court order, Mamata Banerjee on Saturday declared as illegal the indefinite bandh in Darjeeling for Gorkhaland and gave a 72-hour deadline for its withdrawal, an ultimatum rejected outright by GJM which threatened to enforce a 'janata curfew'.
"I have some constitutional obligations. There is a high court order and also a Supreme Court order on bandhs," the chief minister told a press conference in Kolkata.
The chief minister said that in the light of the recent Calcutta high court order which has asked the state to ensure normalcy in the hills, she was declaring the bandh, which entered the eighth day, as illegal and unconstitutional.
"Enough is enough. I have tolerated for eight days. I am very rough and tough. I am giving 72 hours to withdraw the bandh. Do not force me to take strong action," Banerjee said.
Ruling out division of Bengal, she said, "Darjeeling is part and parcel of West Bengal. Darjeeling is my heart. There can be no division of the state based on race."
Apparently targeting GJM chief Bimal Gurung, she said, "I have to act as per government obligations. However big a leader with a long tail which he has tied elsewhere, his tail will be cut."
Asked whether her government would hold talks with the GJM , she said, "There is no difficulty in holding talks if they withdraw the bandh. They can approach the chief secretary and the home secretary."
The GJM chief took a defiant stand and said that the chief minister has to withdraw her statement or else a janata curfew (supporters policing the streets) would be called.

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EXODUS FROM SIRAHA VILLAGE FOLLOWING COMMUNAL CLASH

Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: More than 500 local residents of Saraswar VDC in Siraha district reportedly left their village as of Saturday evening citing insecurity and are taking refuge in their relatives’ houses in the neighbouring villages, Devnarayan Sah writes in The
Kathmandu Post from.Siraha
On Friday, Hindu pilgrims visiting a Shiva temple in the VDC had clashed with villagers after a group of locals allegedly harassed some female pilgrims.
Siraha Chief District Officer Anil Thakur said the situation is gradually returning to normalcy as hundreds of police personnel have been deployed in the village. Some villagers, mostly young men, women and children, left their homes even though the local administration has beefed up security in the area, CDO Thakur said.
Concluding that there was no security threat in the village, the District Administration Office (DAO) lifted curfew at 4:30am. The local administration had clamped a 12-hour curfew in the VDC from 4:30pm on Friday in view of the escalating violence as several houses were robbed and set on fire, while security personnel were caught between the warring sides.
Meanwhile, an all-party meeting of various political parties, civil society and business community was held at the District Development Committee on Saturday to take stock of the situation at Saraswar VDC. They urged one and all to exercise restraint
and maintain social and communal harmony. The meeting also formed a committee and decided to take out a goodwill rally in Saraswar on Sunday.
Speaking at the meeting, most of the speakers asked the local administration to maintain security in the village. They said the local authority should be alert as some criminal groups could “fish in the troubled water”. Police on Friday night arrested two persons of carrying a pistol.
NHRC condemns incident, tells govt to investigate impartially
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the temple clash between two groups in Siraha and the aftermath disharmony.
Issuing a press statement, the national human rights body urged the government to conduct a fair investigation into the case and charge the perpetrators who a breach of the peace.
The NHRC directed the government to keep vigil within the periphery of the site to maintain communal harmony together facilitating the victims with free medical treatment and rehabilitating the displaced people.
Following the incident, the autonomous human rights body deployed an inspection team, which has conducted a primary investigation and is preparing a detailed finding.
Forming a probe committee to investigate the case, the Home Ministry has directed the Eastern Regional Administration Office to conduct a fair investigation and submit a report within seven days.
According to the Home Ministry seven people have been injured in the clash, while 11 households were set on fire and 10 houses were robbed. The ministry confirmed that it has directed the local administration to provide free treatment to the injured whose condition is said to be stable. “The situation is under control now as we have deployed adequate security personnel in the area,” read the statement. (PR)

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CIAA URGES RESTRAINED TEEJ CELENRATIONS
Kathmandu, 11 Aug,: Tightening screw on extravagance in social functions and festivities, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has directed the Nepal Police to discourage such activities in upcoming Teej festival and other celebrations, The Kathmandu Post writes..
“Nepal Police has already been instructed to follow the Social Behaviour Reform Act 1976 and refrain from such extravagance,” CIAA spokesperson Shreedhar Sapkota said, adding that the anti-graft body is also sending similar letter to the Nepal Army through the Ministry of Defence on Sunday.
The CIAA had earlier directed all the authorities and individuals concerned to abide by the Act while observing social ceremonies such as marriage, Bartabanda, birthday, rice feeding and other gatherings. Following the directive, CPN-UML leader Agni Kharel had cancelled a grand reception scheduled last week on the occasion of his son’s marriage ceremony.
The Act provisions the number of guests for a wedding procession must not exceed 51 and gold offerings to the bride/groom should not exceed 20 grams, among other stipulations. Those going against the Act can be slapped with a fine of Rs 3,000 or imprisoned up to 30 days and any government service holders found breaching it will be liable for departmental action pursuant to the concerned service law.
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