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Maoists may call off strike
The High-Level Political Mechanism meeting today began on a tense note as Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal came down heavily against each other for making aggressive remarks recently।It was HLPM’s first meeting after it was formed on January 8। The three-hour meeting was convened at the residence of Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala in Maharajgunj।Prachanda objected to the PM’s recent remark to do to Maoists what Sri Lanka had done to the LTTE, while the PM objected to Maoist leaders’ remarks not to include him in the mechanism, sources told THT। However, the two calmed down later. Koirala calmed down the duo, saying their comments did not augur well for the nation at this critical time. “You should show statesmanship,” he told them. He urged the Maoists to withdraw their planned strike, reasoning it may trigger untoward incidents from both the sides - the state and the protesters - vitiating the atmosphere of talks. Prachanda reacted positively to the request of the NC and the CPN-UML bosses to withdraw all protest programmes, including the scheduled indefinite strike, said sources. Prachanda said his party would dwell on the request and spell its decision in the HLPM’s next meeting scheduled for January 22. “We requested the NC and the UML to be sympathetic to our concerns if they were serious to end the present political deadlock,” said Prachanda, emerging from the meeting. UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari, who attended the meeting, said, “Going by what transpired in today’s meeting, we can expect a positive result at the January 22 meeting. However, the party’s past record of reneging on promises makes us wary.” Meanwhile, the HLPM today formed a six-member task force to prepare its Terms of Reference and to do the groundwork to induct other political parties in the mechanism. The task force is mandated to submit its report on the two issues at the next meeting of the HLPM. The task force includes Arjun Narsingh KC and Krishna Prasad Sitaula from the NC, Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Dev Gurung from the UCPN-M and Bharat Mohan Adhikari and Yuvraj Gyanwali from the CPN-UML. It will initiate meet tomorrow to accomplish the mandated tasks, NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula told THT. “The HLPM should focus on peace, stability and new constitution to save the nation from disaster,” Sitaula quoted Koirala as saying.
The High-Level Political Mechanism meeting today began on a tense note as Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal came down heavily against each other for making aggressive remarks recently।It was HLPM’s first meeting after it was formed on January 8। The three-hour meeting was convened at the residence of Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala in Maharajgunj।Prachanda objected to the PM’s recent remark to do to Maoists what Sri Lanka had done to the LTTE, while the PM objected to Maoist leaders’ remarks not to include him in the mechanism, sources told THT। However, the two calmed down later. Koirala calmed down the duo, saying their comments did not augur well for the nation at this critical time. “You should show statesmanship,” he told them. He urged the Maoists to withdraw their planned strike, reasoning it may trigger untoward incidents from both the sides - the state and the protesters - vitiating the atmosphere of talks. Prachanda reacted positively to the request of the NC and the CPN-UML bosses to withdraw all protest programmes, including the scheduled indefinite strike, said sources. Prachanda said his party would dwell on the request and spell its decision in the HLPM’s next meeting scheduled for January 22. “We requested the NC and the UML to be sympathetic to our concerns if they were serious to end the present political deadlock,” said Prachanda, emerging from the meeting. UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari, who attended the meeting, said, “Going by what transpired in today’s meeting, we can expect a positive result at the January 22 meeting. However, the party’s past record of reneging on promises makes us wary.” Meanwhile, the HLPM today formed a six-member task force to prepare its Terms of Reference and to do the groundwork to induct other political parties in the mechanism. The task force is mandated to submit its report on the two issues at the next meeting of the HLPM. The task force includes Arjun Narsingh KC and Krishna Prasad Sitaula from the NC, Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Dev Gurung from the UCPN-M and Bharat Mohan Adhikari and Yuvraj Gyanwali from the CPN-UML. It will initiate meet tomorrow to accomplish the mandated tasks, NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula told THT. “The HLPM should focus on peace, stability and new constitution to save the nation from disaster,” Sitaula quoted Koirala as saying. 
