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VOL. 28, NO. 19, Jan 16, 2009 (Magh 03 2065 B.S.)
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THE FORMER GENERAL SECRETARY OF Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) Madhav Kumar Nepal is all set to head the powerful Constitutional Committee (CC) of the Constituent Assembly (CA). To pave the way for his elevation to the important position, he was nominated as CA member by his party on Saturday (Jan 10). He even took oath of office on Saturday night from CA chairman Subas Nemwang. To make room for him, one of the UML's CA members Sushil Chandra Amatya resigned from his position. Nepal was nominated to the position after Maoists formally proposed him to head the CC – which was later endorsed unanimously by the UML central committee meeting. Nepal even exacted the support from main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) for his new position. The CC is a powerful committee under the CA whose chief job is to prepare draft of constitution and present the same to CA for approval. After taking oath as CA member, Nepal said, "I am honored to become CA member. I will carry out by duty." Nepal had earlier lost in the CA election after which he had also resigned as UML general secretary. In recent times, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had been urging him to head the CC.
THE CABINET, ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT, DECIDED to reconstitute the special committee on army integration and rehabilitation. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will now head the committee, which will have eight members – two each from three major coalition partners – Maoists, Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) – and two from main opposition Nepali Congress (NC). Earlier, the committee was headed by deputy prime minister and UML leader Bamdev Gautam and it had one member each from UML, MJF and NC and two from Maoists. The NC had been demanding that the committee have equal representations from all parties. Due to its demands, the earlier committee was unable to initiate even a single step towards the integration and rehabilitation process.
INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO NEPAL Rakesh Sood on Wednesday said that the bilateral relations between Nepal and India would not be affected though the controversy over the appointment of new Nepali priests at the Pashupatinath temple have disappointed some of the Indians. The Indian envoy's latest remark came in the wake of mounting concerns of Indian leaders over the ongoing row following the appointment of Nepali priests, breaking away from nearly three-hundred-year old tradition, at the Pashupatinath temple by sacking the Indian Bhatta Brahmins including the head priest. While unveiling a newly constructed school building and electrification at Bhotechaur VDC in Sindhupalchowk district today, Sood stressed on the need for abiding by the court's order. Ambassador Sood said that the aspirations of Nepali people will be included if Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal committed to comply with the Supreme Court order. Earlier on Tuesday, visiting leaders of India's Samajbadi Party Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh regretted the Maoist-led government and dubbed the replacement of the south Indian priests with new Nepali priests at the temple a politicization of the time-honored tradition. Likewise, leader of Bharitiya Janata Party Lal Krishna Advani opposition expressed dissatisfaction over the controversy of appointment of Nepali priests at Pashupatinath temple, one of the holiest shrine of Hindus.
UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER for Refugees (UNHCR) said that over 8000 Bhutanese refugees have left their camps in Nepal to be resettled in different countries in 2008. The United States of America which announced that it would resettle 60,000 refugees, and even more if needed, has received 7547, the largest numbers so far, who have been settled in cities like Tuscon, Seattle, Pittsburg, Altanta and Baltimore. Departures to Australia total 393, New Zealand 129, Canada 40, Netherlands 27, Norway 24 and Denmark 13, the statement reads. Some 16,000 - 18,000 refugees are expected to leave Nepal in 2009. "We are pleased to see so many refugees starting their lives afresh after living in difficult conditions in the camps for the last 18 years and to learn that those resettled are adapting well in their new country," a UNHCR statement quoted Daisy Dell, UNHCR Representative in Nepal as saying. She said, "This programme would not have been successful without the strong support of the Government of Nepal, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the resettlement countries." UNHCR further said around 60,000 refugees have shown their interest for resettlement. Additionally, UNHCR said it, together with the international community, will continue to advocate for the option of voluntary repatriation to Bhutan for those refugees who wish to do so.
THE NEPAL RASTRA BANK (NRB) report of the first five months of the current fiscal year has shown that the rate of inflation has continued to increase. In the month of Mangsir (Nov/Dec), the rate of inflation was at 14.1 percent compared to 5.7 percent in the same month of previous year. The rate of inflation has been particularly high among foodstuffs – reaching 17.2 percent. During this period, the index of salary and wages also increased by 14.6 percent compared with 8 percent previous year. This was due to rise in salaries by Rs 2000 monthly by the government. The central bank had targeted to tame the inflation at 7.5 percent this year in its monetary policy.
THE ELECTION COMMISSION (EC) has asked the government to announce the date for by-election for six Constituent Assembly (CA) seats that remain vacant. EC commissioners called Deputy Prime Minister Bam Dev Gautam and chief secretary Bhoj Raj Ghimire at the EC office and advised them to announce the by-election date at the earliest. The EC officials also sought government assistance in updating the voter lists. By-election is to be conducted in Rolpa- 2, Morang-5 and 7, Kaski-1, Kanchanpur-4 and Dhanusha-5 remain vacant. Of the five seats vacated by candidates elected from two constituencies, Maoist chairman and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal vacated Rolpa-2, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum leaders Upendra Yadav and Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar vacated Morang-5 and 7 respectively, Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba Kanchanpur-4 and Maoist leader Dev Gurung gave up Kaski-1 while Dr Ram Baran Yadav gave up his Dhanusha-5 CA seat after being elected President.
