Dahal on weeklong Rolpa ‘revenge’ tour

KATHMANDU, NOV 11 - After the ruling parties snubbed the meeting of the Political Committee that he had called, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal embarked on a weeklong visit of Rolpa on Monday, pushing the stalled constitution drafting process to the brink by crippling cross-party negotiations.

Maoist leaders read the move as Dahal’s tit-for-tat response to ruling parties and a hint of the slim chances of agreement on the contentious issues of constitution-writing. According to Dahal’s secretariat, he will spend one week in mid-western districts, a heartland of the Maoist insurgency that lasted over a decade.

If there had been a positive gesture from the ruling parties, he could have cancelled the visit but there are no signs of rapprochement, Maoist leaders said. Two days ago, Dahal, as the Political Committee (PC) chairman, called its meeting, promising “closed and focussed talks” on the outstanding issues. The ruling Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML refused to attend the meet saying that the body is not mandated to discuss issues of constitution writing.

Feeling “insulted”, Dahal decided to move out instead. Leaders close to him say Dahal will not attend the PC meeting and cross-party dialogue as the ruling parties “did not recognise” the committee formed to facilitate the remaining tasks of the peace process.

“The [Maoist] chairman is of the view that there is no meaning of talks as the ruling parties refused to attend the PC meeting,” said Dahal’s press assistant Shiva Khakurel. He claimed that Dahal notified the top leaders of other parties about his visit.

Dahal has often said it is impossible to reach consensus at the crowded PDCC. He suggests discussing the disputes at the Political Committee in an arrangement whereby an informal agreement reached at the PC could be formalised by the PDCC later.

Ruling party leaders said Dahal’s visit is a mark of his lack of commitment to promulgate a new constitution by January 22. “He wants to prolong the process by rendering the PDCC ineffective,” said UML Secretary Pradeep Gyawali. “He fears that the PDCC can forward our proposal [to the CA] any time. He does not even fully trust Baburam Bhattarai [PDCC chairman].” The PDCC is set to resume its business on Tuesday but there has been no agreement on the approach to the disputed issues. After pressure, Bhattarai has called a meeting of the PDCC to discuss the proposal tabled by the NC and the UML together with some fringe parties.

Leaders charge that the PDCC will merely be a platform for parties to express views and it will not produce any positive results. Bhattarai announced the meeting after consultation with PM Sushil Koirala, Maoist Chairman Dahal and UML Chairman KP Oli. “We won’t let the NC and the UML send their proposal to the CA at any cost,” said Maoist leader Shakti Basnet.

Despite gaping differences, some leaders are working to find common ground on the contentious issues. UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, UCPN (M) Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha and NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula are working to explore a compromise.

BRB becomes Twitter celebrity

KATHMANDU, NOV 11 - Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s followers on Twitter have crossed the 100,000 mark, making him the most popular Twitter celebrity in Nepal.

The New York-based Nepali fashion designer Prabal Gurung has more than 165,000 followers. Gurung has 13,900 tweets while Bhattarai has close to 900.

Bhattarai’s fame is remarkable considering the period he has been on Twitter and the number of tweets.

The UCPN (Maoist) leader joined Twitter in January 2013 with the handle @brb_laaldhwoj. Gurung joined the social media in May, 2009.

Bhattarai has acknowledged his followers: “I thank all fellow 100,000 tweeple. Let us continue to use the social network for healthy debate,” he tweeted in Nepali on Monday morning.

His tweets range from political commentaries to congratulatory notes to the national cricket team.

According to Twitonomy, a Twitter analytical site, the most retweeted tweet of his was the praise for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Modi has won d heart&mind of Nepalese people with his magical address 2 d legislature-parliament of Nepal.” The August 3 post was retweeted 667 times.

His tweets also include political promise: “@OmBhaktaUprety1...Give me single party majority govt. for 5 yrs like in Bihar. If i don’t show results, you can shoot me, young friends.”

Other popular public figures on twitter are Nepali Congress Leader Gagan Thapa, with over 71,000 followers, and Chief CIAA Commissioner Lok Man Singh Karki, who joined Twitter in May last year and has more than 44,000 followers.

Journalists are also popular on the site. Rabindra Mishra has 66,000 followers, Narayan Shrestha has 59,000, Narayan Wagle 55,000 and Sudheer Sharma has 33,000 followers.

There are a total of 64.5 million registered Twitter users worldwide with 135,000 new users signing up every day. The average number of tweets per day is around 58 million, according to Twitter.

While there is no exact number of Twitter users in Nepal, it is estimated around 3 million. Twitter was launched to public on July 15, 2006.

According to a survey conducted in 2013 among Twitter users in Nepal, 84 percent believe celebrities and politicians can benefit on the platform. In the study carried out by the Centre for Media Research Nepal, over 1008 Twitter responses were received, of which only 625 complete responses were considered for analysis.

With over 59 million followers, American Popstar Katy Perry tops the chart, followed by Canadian popstar Justin Bieber, who has over 56 million fans. US President Barack Obama comes third with 49.4 million followers.

Govt weighs options on Modi’s public address request

KATHMANDU, NOV 11 - The government is exploring options over allowing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deliver public speech in Janakpur and Lumbini.

The government and its agencies found themselves in a tight spot after Modi expressed his desire to address the public in two revered religious sites for the Hindus and Buddhists. Besides security issues, there were concerns over the kind of public platform to be accorded to Modi in Janakpur and Lumbini, said multiple sources. Although the Indian premier is said to have been given a go-ahead at the highest political level, the authorities are keen to keep the functions away from  controversies. After weighing several options, the government has prepared a template of the public function in consultation with the Indian side to avoid embarrassment.

The Foreign Ministry is closely coordinating with other concerned government agencies to honour Modi’s request, but they are yet to come up with a concrete template for the public meeting, conceded Khaganath Adhikari, Foreign Ministry spokesperson. “The best option to have crossed our minds so far is to organise these programmes under the local Nepali banner, where senior Cabinet ministers can address them ahead of Modi. Some local leaders can also deliver make speech,” said another ministry official involved in consultations.

According to the official, the Indian side had assured them that Modi’s speech would not have anything beyond  completely make a speech like in India or his political constituencies so that we should not remain that level of cautious in this respect, said the official adding that Nepali side sees this opportunity to strengthening the bilateral ties.

Should Modi’s Lumbini and Janakpur plans materialise, it would be the first public address in Nepal by any visiting foreign dignitary. In August, Modi became the first visiting head of government to address Parliament.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay are also scheduled to visit Lumbini on the margins of the 18th Saarc Summit.

Janakpur preparations into high gear

Authorities of both Nepal and India have stepped up preparations for a scheduled Janakpur visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month.

The 22 km road linking Vittamod in India to Janakpur in Nepal, which the Indian premier is said to be using during his visit, is being repaired.

Representatives of security agencies and officials from the two sides have started taking stock of development and security situation in Janakpur. That was preceded by the inspection visit by Home Secretary Surya Prasad Silwal, IGP Upendra Kanta Aryal and Jit Bahadur KC, chief investigation director of the National Investigation Department.

Likewise, Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae also visited Janakpur earlier to take stock of security situation of the town.

A helipad is being built on the premises of Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial College at Sursand town of Sitamarhi district in the Indian state of Bihar for the visit. The Indian PM is scheduled to arrive in the Indian town on a helicopter and travel overland to Janakpur.

Army to coordinate Saarc security

The Nepal Army will be coordinating the overall security during the 18th Saarc Summit taking place on November 26 and 27.

The NA troops started patrolling the areas inside Ring Road on Saturday, said the Army spokesperson Jagdish Chandra Pokhrel.

Under the government plan, the NA will provide security to the heads of state and government from the Saarc region with assistance from Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department.

Pokhrel said preparations are under way to finalise the integrated security action plan for the summit.

The government has  formed a committee consisting of officials from the security agencies and concerned ministries under Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam. The committee has formed various sub-committees, each commissioned to look after different aspects of the security plan including the transport services arrangements for the VVIPs, traffic management, threat assessment and medical service.

Members of various sub-committees have already completed observations of the Tribhuvan International Airport, hotel and retreat sites and are coordinating with the concerned authorities for security arrangements, the NA said.