KATHMANDU: UCPN Maoist leader Devendra Paudel has claimed that the leaders close to Vice Chairman Baburam Bhattarai will participate in party’s upcoming central committee meeting. Paudel, who is one of the most influential leaders in the Bhattarai faction, said so while speculations are rife of the faction’s intention to boycott the CC meeting accusing party Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal of foul play in selecting CC members during the recently concluded conclave of the party.

Paudel said that they will participate in the CC meeting claiming that Dahal had promised of taking the party ahead in consensus. Talking at an interaction program organized by the Reporters Club Nepal on Sunday, he informed that Dahal and another vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha have agreed to form a 151 member CC during a meeting with him and party leader Top Bahadur Raimajhi.

“We have requested for deferring the CC meet citing delay in the arrival of Vice Chairman Baburam Bhattarai. We will participate in the first meeting after due discussion if it is deferred and will participate in the second meeting, if the first one is not deferred,” said Paudel at the program presided by the Club’s President Rishi Dhamala.

Claiming that they had not boycotted the Biratnagar conclave to split the party he said that the party can move ahead in consensus if Chairman Dahal moves ahead in consensus giving up factionalism.

However Paudel warned that they would not sit tight if their demands, presented to the Chairman, are not addressed.
Commenting on the progress made in constitution drafting, Paudel accused the government of being incapable of initiating efforts to garner consensus on the constitution drafting process along with general day to day administration.

While briefing party members of the recently concluded General Convention at the party head office in Kathmandu today, Prachanda said that the CPN-Maoist were also serious on issues of peace and constitution drafting.
“The rumor that we have deflected from peace and the constitution drafting process has been pervasive in the bureaucratic circle. This is misleading. As a co-signer of the Comprehensive Peace Process, there is no possibility on my part to foil these processes. We are working with commitment for concluding these processes and the CPN-Maoist is also committed to it, said Prachanda on the occasion.

On the occasion, Prachanda also said that the nominations made for the central committee in the general convention were agreed by Vice Chairman of the party Dr. Baburam Bhattarai too. He expressed confidence that the 52 members that will be nominated by the party in the committee will have participation from Bhattarai aligned leaders as well.

He expressed gratitude for working with Bhattarai as a party member for over two decades and claimed that constitution can be promulgated only if all go ahead in consensus.

KATHMANDU: Some of the UCPN Maoist bigwigs have failed to make it as the representative to the central committee in the party’s district conclave.
The election organized to elect representatives for the party’s national conclave slated for May 1, concluded by defeating most of the bigwigs that are mostly party Vice Chairman Baburam Bhattarai’s favourites.
Among these names, one is that of Sameer Dahal, former Personal Secretary and nephew of party chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal. Others to join him on the list are Khim Lal Devkota, Sabnam Saathi, Ganga Belbasey, Sabina Aryal, Sarita Maharjan. Along with them, Dr. Dilliraj Khanal, who had entered the party after deflecting from CPN UML, has also been defeated in the election, held in Kapan on Sunday evening.
Similary UCPN Maoist Central Advisory Board’s Chairman N K Prasai, lawmaker J B Tuhurey, Khemraj Bhatta ‘Mayalu”, Dr. Chandra Kant Paudel, Kaladhar Devkota, Sunil Kumar Paudel, Rajbhai Jakmi, Padam Khadka, Dev Bahadur Paudel, Jay Bahadur Karki, Gopal Siwakoti, among others lost the elections.
Members who were elected include Dahal’s daughter Renu Dahal, Central Committe member Lila Mani Pokhrel, Devendra Paudel, Hisila Yami, labour union leader Salikram Jamarkattel, ANNIFSU Chairman Himal Sharma, leader Ramesh Malla, Anjana Bisankhey, Lucky Sherpa, Dilip Maharjan, Rupa Maharjan, Shiva Koirala, Sarbottam Dangol, Chandra Thapa Sagar, D B Tamang, Balabati Sharma, Shashi Shrestha Jagat Sinkhada, Ganesh Regmi, Mukti Pradhan, Raman Shrestha, Prakash GM, Govinda Batala, Mahendra Shrestha are among the 58 members elected. Along with that 57 district members were nominated through consensus.
43 of these delegates elected are said to be Prachanda loyalist, 11 to Bhattarai, and four to another party vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Similarly, out of 57 nominated as district committee members, 42 candidates are close to Dahal. While nine candidates represent Bhattarai’s faction, five are loyal to Shrestha.

KATHMANDU: UCPN Maoist supremo Puspa Kamal Dahal has rolled out two-point demands as conditions to cooperate in the drafting of the constitution and government formation.
The Maoist leader is said to have passed these demands to political party leaders and diplomats of major countries during his recent formal and informal talks with them.
Dahal aka Prachanda had recently held talks with Indian, Chinese, US and EU ambassadors on various dates after his party denied to cooperate in constitution drafting following a sweeping defeat in the CA elections.
Prachanda has asked political parties to create space for the CPN Maoist and its 33 political party alliance in the CA  and to form a high level commission to investigate into the alleged CA election fraud.
He has claimed that fulfilling these terms will enable him to discuss within his party constitution drafting agenda and secure party’s interest in the constitution drafting process.
Nepali Congress’s K P Sitaula and Ram Chandra Paudel, and CPN UML’s Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal have been positive towards these demands and have initiated discussion within their respective parties to fulfill Prachanda’s demand.
UCPN Maoist’s influential leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha confirmed the demands and said that his party is ready to participate in the CA if the political parties agreed to form a high level independent commission for investigating all alleged frauds in the election.

Sunsari: UCPN Maoist Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal has claimed that a new constitution cannot be drafted unless his party secures a majority in the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) through the CA election slated for November 19.

Dahal, who is more popular by the name Prachanda said that the earlier constitution could not draft the constitution as his party’s all members were not elected as the CA member.

Addressing a electoral campaign in Sunsari on Thursday, the former Maoist rebel promised to deliver the rights of the Madheshi people by being a representative in the upcoming CA .

He said that this time around he was contending the elections from Siraha so that he could deliver justice to the madheshi community.

His deputies UCPN Vice Chairman Baburam Bhattarai and Narayan Kaji Shrestha were also present.

KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reiterated that his party has the plan of focusing on economic development after establishing political stability through the forthcoming Constituent Assembly election.

Addressing a programme to welcome new entrants to the party at a function held at the party central office, Parisdanda, on Tuesday, he said his party would focus on economic development since economic prosperity was a sine qua non for institutionalising the political changes.

Economic stability has a key role for attaining social and political stability, he said and claimed that only his party would be successful in taking the country towards economic prosperity by mobilising the youths.

Declaring that nobody could stop his party from garnering a majority in the upcoming CA election given the public enthusiasm seen towards the party throughout the country, the UCPN-Maoist Chairman said that other political parties lacked concrete political, economic and social agenda.

Dahal, who is also the former prime minister said that the country would not be able to withstand the transition for long and therefore the party had the plan of mobilising the youths in production, development and construction.

As many as 36 youths under the leadership of social workers Pradip Pariyar and Suman Thulung and an equal number of youths under the leadership of Satya Narayan Saha, central member of the CPN-UML-aligned Youth Association Nepal, entered the UCPN-Maoist on the occasion.

KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said that country’s political transition was elongated as some status-quoist political forces denied giving rights to the people.

Inaugurating the national gathering of National Human Rights Concern Center here on Saturday, the UCPN-Maoist Chairman said that election to the Constituent Assembly (CA) was needed to empower the people.

Arguing that his party failed to meet people’s expectations due to lack of a clear majority in the past, the former prime minister added that the erstwhile CA also failed to draft the constitution due to lack of two-thirds majority of the progressive and revolutionary forces.

Dahal also expressed confidence that people would give a clear majority to the UCPN-Maoist in the upcoming CA election scheduled for November 19.

A clear majority was required to institutionalize the agendas of change, Chairman Dahal asserted.

Saying that his party was committed to making the CA election a success, Dahal hoped that people would defeat the regressive forces in the upcoming poll.

Dahal also said that empowering the people was the best way to ensure human rights in the country and added the role of rights bodies was vital during the election period.

Also speaking at the programme, UCPN-Maoist leader Barsha Man Pun said that one-sided interpretation of human rights could not benefit the any side as the issue of human rights was linked to all people.

Pun said that the UCPN-Maoist was in favour of promoting rule of law and the human rights should not be interpreted in a relative way.

On the occasion, rights activists Charan Prasain, Shovakar Parajuli and Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, among others expressed their opinions on different facets of human rights.

During the programme, Chairman of the Center Borna Bahadur Karki presented a concept paper on human rights and its condition in Nepal.

In his concept paper, Karki has stated that truth and reconciliation commission should be formed immediately to settle the war-era cases.

The gathering is also scheduled to elect a new working committee.

KATHMANDU: UCPN Maoist Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal has said that the efforts to ensure the participation of the CPN Maoist and other dissenting political parties will be made.

Speaking at a program in Thankot, on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Sunday morning, Prachanda said that some of the dissenting parties including the CPN Maoist were willing to take part in the CA elections. He added that the High Level Political Council was aware of it and will make ever effort to ensure their participation in the CA elections.

His statement came a day after the CPN Maoist led alliance walked out of talks with the HLPC on Round Table Conference citing lack of seriousness in the major political parties to disuse their demands.

On a different note, Prachanda called on all the participants to support his party to get a clear majority over other parties so that they could draft the constitution .

KATHMANDU: Senior leaders of the UCPN Maoist and the CPN Maoist held talks on contentious issues surrounding the holding of CA election on Saturday morning.

The meeting was called by the UCPN-Maoist to persuade the agitating CPN-Maoist to participate in the November 19 elections.

Despite UCPN Maoist’s effort to convince the CPN Maoist for giving up some of their demands including deferral of polls date and dissolution of the incumbent government, the latter remained adamant on them, sources informed.

The meeting was held at UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s personal residence in Lazimpat.

UCPN-Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Posta Bahadur Bogati including Chairman Dahal, and CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidhya, Vice Chairman CP Gajurel and General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa were present from the respective parties.

KATHMANDU: Chairman of the Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi, and Chairman of the UCPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal held a meeting at the official residence of the Prime minister at Baluwatar on Thursday morning.

During the meeting, they discussed on the contemporary issues including election environment and the latest political situation of the country, said Press Coordinator of Chairman Regmi, Rajendra Pandey.

On the occasion, Regmi said that the government is engaged with determination to hold the election to the next Constituent assembly (CA) on the stipulated date on November 19.

Chairman Regmi said that the government was determined to hold the CA election on the declared date by incorporating all in the election, Pandey quoted Regmi as saying.

Stating that the talks with the dissenting parties have moved ahead positively, UCPN–Maoist Chairman Dahal familiarised Regmi about their preparations of the election.

The government and the major political parties have been holding talks with the dissenting parties including the CPN-Maoist to bring them into election.