As Oli Skates on Thin Ice, Ruling Party Meetings Come Thick and Fast
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 292 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 23.1 C -7.4 C Sunday, December 20, 2020 | 05-09-2077 Dipayal Jumla As Oli skates on thin ice, ruling party meetings come thick and fast Oli, who rarely steps out of Baluwatar, goes to Khumaltar to ‘convince’ Dahal and then drops by Thapa’s residence amid pressure to withdraw the ordinance. TIKA R PRADHAN party committee should decide its KATHMANDU, DEC 19 fate,” said a member of Dahal’s secretariat. Nepal Communist Party chair and Party insiders say Oli seems to have Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli run out of options and hence was barely steps out of Baluwatar. making a last-ditch effort to reach a Especially since he underwent a deal with Dahal ahead of Sunday’s second kidney transplant on March 4 Standing Committee meeting, which and given the pandemic, most of is expected to discuss Dahal’s political the party and Cabinet meetings are document as well as Oli’s rebuttal. held at his official residence. But But if Oli does not withdraw the sometimes Oli does venture out. And ordinance before the meeting, that this happens whenever he is in a will become the major agenda and Oli deep crisis. will face censure for refusing to abide Just as the opposing faction led by by Wednesday’s party decision, other chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal pre- according to leaders. pared to turn up the heat on Oli to Oli’s sudden move on Tuesday of abide by party decisions or step down, bulldozing an ordinance to amend he decided to turn on the charm. some clauses of the Constitutional On Saturday morning, he went to Council Act, making it easier for him POST PHOTO: MANOJ POUDEL Khumaltar to meet with Dahal. to call the Council meetings and tak- A truck carrying a load of paddy imported from India is supported by bamboo poles as it gets stuck in an under-construction road at Naya Tole Chowk in Taulihawa, Kapilvastu. Traders say According to Dahal’s private secre- ing decisions attracted widespread paddy from across the border is less expensive than the local produce. tariat, Oli urged the other chair to opprobrium. withdraw the political document. Many have said Oli committed Dahal’s political document present- fraud on the constitution. ed at the November 13 Secretariat Insiders say Oli is now making the meeting has levelled serious charges ordinance a tool, saying he would against Oli and the latter does not withdraw it only if Dahal obliges to Government yet to respond to growing calls for want that to be formally discussed at his demand. party committees. A leader said the party has had “But Dahal conveyed to Oli that enough of Oli now and no one is in a since the document has already mood to tolerate his mischief. winter session of federal parliament become the property of the party, the >> Continued on page 2 Ruling party internal feud is also besetting parliamentary processes, analysts say. BINOD GHIMIRE Party. could lose his chair. KATHMANDU, DEC 19 On Wednesday, a day after the “Oli is making every attempt to President issued an ordinance on the delay the House because he is afraid The clamour for a Parliament session Constitutional Council Act on the rec- of it,” Chandra Dev Bhatta, who is getting stronger by the day. ommendation of Prime Minister KP writes commentaries for Kantipur, the On Saturday, the Nepali Congress Sharma Oli’s Cabinet, two Standing Post’s sister paper, told the Post. and the Janata Samajbadi Party Committee members of his Nepal “Delaying the House session together decided to call for the winter Communist Party (NCP) had gone to means stopping lawmakers from put- session of the House after a meeting the Office of the President with signa- ting the concerns of the people before of their leaders. tures of 83 lawmakers with a petition the country. This will only weaken “The two parties have decided to for a special session of Parliament. democracy.” demand the winter session of the But two weeks before the govern- The interval between the two House federal parliament immediately,” said ment is constitutionally obliged to sessions cannot be more than six Keshab Jha, a central working com- call the winter session, political par- months, as per Article 93 of the mittee member of the Janata Samajadi ties resorting to calling for a special Constitution of Nepal. As the budget session is a reflection of the session of Parliament was prorogued uncertain political climate in the on July 2, it is mandatory that the country. winter session begins on January 2. “The government seems reluc- The Parliament Secretariat has tant to call the House though the already started preparations for the constitutional deadline is close,” winter session. Speaker of the House Jha told the Post. of Representatives Agni Sapkota and Political analysts say that Oli is Chairperson of the National Assembly reluctant to call the winter ses- Ganesh Timilsina have both said they sion because he is afraid not only are ready to host the winter session to face the music because of his ensuring necessary safety measures incompetence in governance but against Covid-19. also because he fears that he >> Continued on page 2 How a Buddha Air plane flew the wrong way and landed 255 kilometres away Ground staff changed the flight number but did not brief the pilots who, in turn, failed to check the passenger manifest and flew, officials say. SANGAM PRASAIN KATHMANDU, DEC 19 Next time you take a Buddha Air flight, make sure to reconfirm, as you board the plane, that the plane is fly- ing to your destination airport. Those who did not do that on Friday were in for a surprise. When 69 passengers boarded Buddha Air’s ATR 72 on Friday after- noon, they were headed for Janakpur. But when they landed, they found themselves in Pokhara, 255 kilometres FILE PHOTO: BUDDHA AIR a w a y. A Buddha Air flight headed for Janakpur landed in Pokhara on Friday due to managerial error. Buddha Air admitted to serious lapses on its side. Birendra Bahadur make use of every available weather a set of regulations under which a Basnet, managing director of the car- window to take passengers on board pilot operates an aircraft in weather rier, told the Post they have formed a as quickly as possible and take off. conditions generally clear enough to committee to investigate the incident Buddha Air’s flight U4505 was allow the pilot to see where the air- Since domestic carriers resumed cleared to take off for Janakpur air- craft is going. services on September 21 after nearly port in the plains. Passengers were “The weather was already causing six months of no flights due to the taken in and the plane took off, with flight delays and to make up for the pandemic, planes are flying almost its estimated arrival time at Janakpur flying time, Buddha Air officials full to all destinations. by 3:15 pm. When it took off, it had decided to fly to Pokhara first,” said On Friday also, there was a lot of already been delayed. But when it an official at the airline company. hustle and bustle at the domestic ter- landed, it actually landed in Pokhara, Accordingly, the flight number was minal of the Kathmandu airport. It not the destination airport. changed. “The difference in flight was a breezy afternoon and the weath- As per the preliminary report, due schedule between Janakpur and er was not quite favourable for the to weather issues, flights to Pokhara Pokhara was 15 to 20 minutes,” said flights—some had already been were permitted until 3pm under the the official. delayed. Carriers were in a bid to visual flight rules (VFR). The VFR is >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL Massive landslide in Someshwor hill dams Parui stream There is no immediate threat of dam outburst, police say. RAMESH KUMAR PAUDEL pipeline of a local drinking water CHITWAN, DEC 19 project. “Three hundred taps in Madi-7 run A massive landslide at Someshwor hill dry now due to the damage caused by in Madi Municipality, Chitwan, has the landslide. Local residents are hav- dammed the Parui stream, leaving ing a hard time managing water for downstream settlements at risk of drinking and irrigation purposes,” flooding. said Krishna Paudel, a member of According to local residents, the Ayodhyapuri Buffer Zone Consumers’ water flow along the stream has been Committee. He urged the authorities blocked after the fragile topography of concerned to remove the debris of the Sete Paharo caved in and buried the landslide from the stream and repair stream along a stretch of 500 metres. the damaged water pipeline. Ram Bahadur Acharya, ward mem- According to Jhalak Sharma, ber of Madi-7, and Dhaka Mohan inspector at the Area Police Office in Timilsina, a resident of Devendrapur Madi, the artificial lake is around five in Madi-7, reached the incident site on to seven metres deep as of Saturday. Friday. According to Timilsina, the “A security team reached the site Parui stream originates in Someshwor immediately after they were informed hill and empties into the Riu stream about the incident,” said Sharma. “We that finally mixes with the Rapti river. are discussing with Mayor Thakur “The Parui stream is not a big one Dhakal to invite geologists and act as but there is a high risk of floods if the per their suggestions.” artificial lake formed due to the land- However, the local residents are slide is not drained out immediately,” terrified, as they fear that the artifi- said Timilsina.