A Non Political Cabinet Of Technocrats

It would be a breath of fresh air if a non political cabinet were formed in the leadership of a non political PM. This experiment was successfully conducted in Bangladesh under similar political circumstances.

जसरी भएपनि सविधानसभाको चुनाव गनुपर्ने : मन्त्री महतो
मधेशी मोर्चालाई सरकारमा बस्ने कुनै नैतिक आधार छैन : आत्माराम प्रसाद साह, महासचिव–मधेशी जनअधिकार फोरम (गणतान्त्रिक)

PM proposes to form govt under neutral candidate
EC heads for a vacuum; likely to cast shadow on elections

Opposition parties, including the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, are still firm about not participating in the elections without the Bhattarai-led government being replaced by a national consensus one.

2012, a year of futile manoeuvrings, stunts

a year of meaningless manoeuvrings and stunts that only dragged the nation to a deeper political quagmire. ...... The year saw substantial achievement made in connection with the peace process. The protracted process of integration and rehabilitation of former Maoist combatants finally saw completion. In the anti-corruption front too, major decisions did take place that forced such prominent political figures as Chiranjibi Wagle, Gobinda Raj Joshi and Khum Bahadur Khadka (coincidentally all Nepali Congress leaders) to be thrown behind bars. .... loadshedding acted like ants in the businessmen’s pants.

जहाँ पुगेर सहमति हुन्छ, त्यहिं पुग्नुपर्छः दाहाल
महत चढेको जहाज एमाओवादीले फर्काए

महतले सभालाई सम्बोधन गर्दै एमाओवादी कार्यकर्ताको कृयाकलाप अधिनायकवादी, उद्दण्ड र निरंकुश रहेको बताए । आफ्ना कार्यकर्तालाई सहिद घोषणा नगरेसम्म विरोध कार्यक्रम जारी राख्ने उनले बताए ।

Consensus in next couple of days: Dahal

“We should not object to a candidate from outside the parties though," added Dahal.

CPN-Maoist to come up with policy after general convention

Baidya has said that the party would take a clear policy to wage a new people´s revolution after the party´s general convention. .... would introduce a work plan to complete the remaining part of the revolution. .... the party would move ahead by preparing for popular revolt on the basis of people´s war. .... alleged the UCPN-Maoist leaders of submerging into the parliamentary system against the spirit of the people´s war .... CPN-Maoist secretary Dev Gurung said the imperialist and expansionist forces were working through their agents, not directly, in Nepal.

No progress at Maoist property probes

Amid widespread criticism over the lavish lifestyle of some of the party´s leaders, that according to close aides was distinctly at odds their know sources of income, the ruling party had formed two separate commissions during its seventh plenum held last July at Bhrikuti Mandap. Both commissions were asked to submit their reports within a month. ..... The first commission led by party Secretary Posta Bahadur Bogati, who is said to be close to Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, was assigned to look into the huge financial irregularities that allegedly took place at the seven PLA cantonments that housed almost 20,000 PLA combatants for almost four years. .... the same plenum had formed another three-member commission led by Amik Sherchan, another close aide to Chairman Dahal, and it was asked to investigate the sources of the huge properties owned by party leaders ..... deepening factional differences and mistrust between the Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai camps have made both the commissions almost defunct. ..... all that the Bogati-led commission did was question some former PLA deputy-commanders ..... the commission had received a barrage of complaints against Chairman Dahal and other senior leaders of the party for their “poor handling” of party funds. Earlier, commission chief Sherchan had informed that a total of 65 complaints had been filed at the commission against various leaders. ...... After the formation of the two commissions, six of the seven former PLA division commanders had resigned en masse from their party posts, alleging that Chairman Dahal was hatching a conspiracy to make a few division commanders scapegoats for huge financial irregularities perpetrated by PLA commanders close to him. ........ The ex-commanders also had demanded a thorough investigation against the former PLA supreme commander and other top level commanders, over embezzlements running into billions of rupees.

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• Dahal's Capitulation Is Wrong
• UCPN-Maoist repeats consensus cliche
• Nepali parties fail to meet fourth deadline
• Baburam not the only candidate for unity govt: Prachanda
• Power-sharing deal eludes Nepal parties
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• "Ruling parties prefer Dahal to Sushil Koirala"
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Non Partisan PM

Former Chief Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha
A Non Political PM?

स्वतन्त्र नेतृत्वबारे 'भित्रभित्रै छलफल'

नागरिक समाजका अगुवाहरू मध्येका मानिने दमननाथ ढुंगाना र पदमरत्न तुलाधार ..... केहि दिनअघि प्रधानमन्त्री बाबुराम भट्टराईले पनि नागरिक समाजका अर्का एकजना अगुवा देवेन्द्रराज पाण्डेसँग भेटघाट गरेका थिए। .... भित्रभित्रै स्वतन्त्र व्यक्तीको नेतृत्वको कुरा गरेको बताइएपनि, एकीकृत माओवादी, नेपाली काँग्रेस, नेकपा एमाले वा मधेसी मोर्चा, कुनै पनि दलले यस विषयमा अहिलेसम्म औपचारिक निर्णय चाहिँ गरिसकेका छैनन्।

सातौं समयसीमा पनि फलदायी नहुने संकेत

तटस्थ व्यक्तिको नेतृत्वमा चुनावी सरकारको विकल्पबारे छलफल बाक्लिँदै गएको .... दलहरुले उक्त बाटो अवलम्बन गरे पनि तटस्थ व्यक्ति कसलाई मान्ने भन्नेबारे थप असहमतिको अर्को चरणलाई नकार्न सकिन्न।

PM's 'childish stubbornness' makes deal elusive
UML leader Nepal to form forum of ex-PMs

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Happy New Year

Who Should Lead A Unified Madhesi Party

I am not a huge fan of Gachhedar at all. The guy walks in a Kathmandu parade with a mafia don. That is hugely problematic. But he seems to have the numbers for now. And he symbolically does represent the largest ethnic group in the Terai: the Tharus. Yadavs are number two. Going by the current numbers Gachhedar seems to beat Yadav. But, forget Yadav, not even the MJF(D) and TMLP have taken concrete steps towards unification. And the SP has not taken concrete steps either. So far the three have suggested they'd rather be an alliance than a unified party. If they can forge an electoral alliance and not compete against each other, that can also be a positive move.

Chairperson: Mahantha Thakur
President: Bijay Gachhadar
Vice President: Upendra Yadav
Vice President: Rajendra Mahato
Vice President: Sharad Singh Bhandari

But the whole debate is kind of moot. Because the presidency of the party should be decided through a general convention, not through living room negotiations. A unified Madhesi party stands to reap rich dividends electorally. Let Bijay Gachhadar and Upendra Yadav compete and let there be a vote.

Would you rather be the president of a party with 20 MPs or the Vice President of a party with 50 MPs? That is the question.

The State Of Nepali Politics: A Diagram
Socialist Democratic Party: Welcome
The Implications Of The Madhesi Party Unification
Beyond The Three Parties
10 States

Gachhedar (41)
MJF(D) ---- 13
MJF(R) ---- 12
TMLP ------ 11
SP -------- 5

In power, but not part of UDMF (14)
TMLP(N) --- 10
SSP ------- 4

Yadav (27)
MJFN ------ 14
NMSP ------ 13

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The President Must Pass Election Related Ordinances

President Ram Baran Yadav must pass the election related ordinances that was passed on to him by the Baburam led cabinet months ago. That is his constitutional duty. One caretaker government can not be replaced by another caretaker government. It has to be replaced by an elected government. Allowing a caretaker government in power for longer than one year is wrong. Normally, in a democracy, a caretaker government sticks around for six months maximum. But that time frame was breached by the president himself. He refused to pass the election related ordinances. He can not do that.

Reviving the constituent assembly is a problematic proposition. And the Nepali Congress has rejected every single reasonable proposal put forth by Baburam.

Instead of giving deadlines to political parties Ram Baran Yadav should give a deadline to himself and pass the election related ordinances.

Polls far-off for Dahal, seeks CA rebirth

If in case Dahal fails to sell his CA revival agenda to other parties again, the Maoist party is in favour of holding elections in November next year as against the proposed April-May time. ..... The party has already termed the NC a ‘status quoist force’ and a ‘hindrance’ to its ‘revolutionary ideals’. Maoist leaders have said preparations for both the polls and the party’s convention cannot go on simultaneously. According to sources, the party is ‘not sure’ of the election results after it vertically split in June. .... the party prefers local elections before CA or parliamentary polls

Set election date: Koirala
Consensus a distant dream

The parties shied away from holding any formal or informal talks within the five-day deadline which expired on Saturday. Top leaders of major parties remained busy in their intra-party affairs. .... They seemed ready to postpone the planned April-May election to November but not ready to sacrifice their agenda. ..... The PM and SLMM remain adamant that the NC and the UML should join the current government at least for some period to make their exit dignified. Dahal also recently urged the opposition to join the government even for a single day to ensure his deputy’s dignified exit, only to be rejected outright. Lately, Federal Democratic Republican Alliance, a network of ruling parties, has come up with a new proposal—to raise the agenda of CA revival if consensus is not possible by January 9. The opposition parties have said that a CA revival option is “date expired pills for country’s ills”. .... They have also rejected ruling coalition’s proposal to form a neutral government led by independent people.

Time to step down

PM Bhattarai, who has been insisting that NC join his government before he steps down, needs to promise NC that he will do so within a very short time -- not months but days -- once NC joins the national unity government..... NC joining PM Bhattarai's government, if only for a brief period, will give much-needed assurance that the two major political forces can still work together, without which it's heard see Nepal getting a new constitution.

TIA Migrant Robbery: From a gullible girl to betrayed Sita

Brimming with joy at returning home, Sita landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport on November 19. This was where her troubles would resurface. Stopped at immigration by an official who asked her name, Sita unwittingly gave her real name. Discovering the inconsistency between her name and the passport she was carrying, the official took her into custody. She spent the next day at the immigration office in Kalikasthan. ..... There, Sita was approached by another immigration official, Somnath Khanal, who presented her with another offer: the money she had brought over would be confiscated and she could go free. “He [Khanal] made me sign a blank piece of paper and told me I could go,” she says. “It is not for us, it is for the government,” Khanal told her. ..... Sita never saw her pay, the 8500 riyal (Rs 218,000), again. Taking advantage of the distraught and vulnerable Sita, a police constable, Parsuram Basnet, volunteered to buy her a bus ticket to her village. Despite misgivings, Sita accepted. ..... “He took me to the New Buspark but when we reached there he said that the bus had already left and I would have to take one the next day,” she says. Basnet put her up in a lodge by the buspark and left, saying he would return shortly. When he came back drunk and belligerent, he pounced on her and she screamed. With a hand over her mouth, Basnet threatened to kill her and dispose of her body. Then, he proceeded to rape her. A medical report says she is pregnant. ..... Sita doesn’t remember much of that night. The few riyals that Sita had hidden away in the nooks and crannies of her purse had disappeared overnight. So had the gifts she was taking for her family—the clothes, the watches, all vanished. “I have done so much for you. Do not forget me,” said Basnet before handing her Rs 1,000 for her busfare. “Come and see me again.” However, things, especially the matter of her rape, would have to stay between them. “If you talk to anyone about this, I will kill you,” he said simply.

प्रधानमन्त्रीको राष्ट्रपतिप्रति असन्तुष्टि
बाल मन्दिरमै बलात्कार ?
कांग्रेसलाई सत्ता छाड्दै छाड्दिन : प्रधानमन्त्री

प्रधानमन्त्री बाबुराम भट्टराईले कांग्रेस यथास्थितिवादी शक्ति भएको दावी गर्दै 'अग्रगामी पार्टी वा व्यक्ति' लाई मात्र चुनावी सरकार सुम्पने जिकीर गरेका छन् । चुनाव गराउनु नै आफ्नो एक मात्र अभियान भएको पनि उनले बताएका छन् । त्यसका लागि ढिलोमा जेठ पहिलो साता निर्वाचन हुने ग प्याकेज सहमति भए सरकार छाड्ने जनाएका छन् । .... 'कांग्रेसका कारण संविधानसभा बिघटन भएको हो । उसले सरकार लिए कुनै पनि हालतमा निर्वाचन गराउँदैन' निकटस्थ केहीलाई प्रधानमन्त्रीले आइतबार व्यक्त गरेको धरणा उद्धृत गर्दै स्रोतले भन्यो, 'मेरो एक मात्र मिसन निर्वाचन हो । अग्रगामी शक्तिले मात्र निर्वाचन गराउन सक्ने भएकाले उसैलाई मात्र सरकार सुम्पन तयार छु ।' ..... 'म निर्वाचनकै पक्षमा हो । मैले संविधानसभा पुनःस्थापना गरेर हुदैन भन्दै आएको छु' उनको भनाइ थियो, 'हाम्रो जोड निर्वाचनमै हो ।' .... कांग्रेस सभापति सुशील कोइरालाको नेतृत्वमा सरकार बन्ने संभावना क्षीण हुदै गएकाले राजनीतिक दलको सक्रियतामा स्वतन्त्र ब्यक्तिलाई प्रधानमन्त्रीको रुपमा अघि सारेर भए पनि निर्वाचन गराउनु पर्नेमा समेत उले जोड दिएको स्राेतले जनायो । ..... कांग्रेसले सरकारको नेतृत्व लिए निर्वाचन नगराउने र प्राप्त उपलब्धी पनि संस्थागत नहुने भएकाले उसको सरकार स्वीकार्न नसकिने भट्टराईको बुझाई छ । 'हाम्रो विस्तारित बैठकले कांग्रेसका कारण संविधानसभा बिघटन भएको निश्कर्ष निकालेको थियो' उनले आरोप लगाए, 'उसले सरकारको नेतृत्व लिए निर्वाचन गराउदैन, सरकार मात्र टिकाउने काम गर्छ ।' ..... यसबीचमा भट्टराईले नागरिक समाजका नेता देबन्द्रराज पाण्डेलगायतसंग पनि छलफल गरेका छन् । आफ्नो कारणले निर्वाचन नभएको भनाइप्रति आक्रोश ब्यक्त गर्दै भट्टराईले राष्ट्रपतिले निर्वाचन प्रक्रियालगायत बिषयका अध्यादेश रोकेदेखि नै अप्ठ्यारो पर्दै आएको बताए । 'सरकारले निर्वाचन गराउन राष्ट्रपति समक्ष पठाएका अध्यादेश रोकेपछि म कस बाधक भए ?' उनी भन्छन्, 'अहिले आएर मलाई पो सबै प्रक्रियाको बाधक भनिंदैछ ।'

राष्ट्रपतिले अन्तिम कदम चाल्नुपर्छ : कोइराला

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The State Of Nepali Politics: A Diagram

There are two broad camps: there are the federalists, and there are the anti-federalists. Within the federal camp there are frictions. The CPN(M) competes with the UCPN(M). The FDF competes with the UDMF. But then the federalist Social Democratic Party competes with the Nepali Congress, and the Federal Socialist Party competes with the UML. Perhaps it is unrealistic to seek complete unity among federalists.

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