The state of State Capture

March 5, 2024 08:32 am

Ever since the Maoists joined mainstream politics, two Nepali phrases, namely, naya satta and satta kabja are in vogue. Basically, the implied meaning of the phrases is to have a new regime (naya satta) replaced by capturing an old state (satta kabja)

The Elephant in the Room

August 20, 2023 08:45 am

Scanning social media creates the impression that the Nepal Army is treated as a sacred cow—a virtually untouchable and sacrosanct institution. The slightest criticism leads to a barrage of offensive and defensive counter-criticisms, often escalating to personalized attacks that label the critic as anti-national, a foreign spy, or even a traitor.

KATHMANDU, March 8: Alarmed by the Supreme Court’s decision to allow filing cases against Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who as the leader of the then Maoist rebels started the People’s War that killed over 17,000 people, the Maoist leaders convened a meeting on Tuesday and issued a three-point declaration. The Maoist leaders, who are now divided in different factions, made it clear that they will protest and counter any activity that is against the peace agreement.

ROLPA, Nov 27: Participating in the recently-held general elections was like biting a bullet for the Maoists who came to the election field in the last local level elections as a part of the ruling alliance. Even the party’s bastion in Rolpa was not secure. Apart from Rukum West, the presence of Maoists in other districts was not satisfactory. In the 17 years of the peace process, the Maoists struggled to save their legacy.

PM Koirala and rebel leaders Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Dr Baburam Bhattarai occupied their seats which were arranged face to face. While the PM was flanked by his team members including Dr Shekhar Koirala, Home Minister KP Sitaula, and the author as PM's foreign affairs adviser, the Maoist Chairman Dahal was accompanied only by Bhattarai. The dialogue was taking place in the room adjacent to the PM's bedroom.

CHITWAN, June 15: After more than two years of the incident, Chitwan District Court on Thursday convicted Drona Bahadur Shiwakoti and Madhu Neupane for tearing up ballot papers during the election in Bharatpur Metropolis in 2017. Shiwakoti and Neupane – two cadres of the then CPN (Maoist Center) – were convicted for tearing up some of the ballots during vote counting in Ward 19.

Painful case of neglect

June 9, 2019 02:25 am

She devoted her life for the cause of revolution to change her society, her country and lives of people like her. She fought the battles with forces then perceived as ‘enemies’ of the people. She married a man she thought was her comrade. Then the revolution came to an end, those who assured her of better life during the course of struggle became ministers or reached the top political ranks. They forgot her, even her husband abandoned her.

ILAM, June 14: Families of those who were disappeared during the decade-long armed conflict in Ilam are still waiting in the hope that their missing kin would return home some day.

ROLPA, May 18: School children in a Rolpa village have  to attend classes in dusty rooms because there is no school building, and the authorities have not shown any interest in their plight. At the same time a grand ‘Bhajan Mandali’ building dedicated to God has been constructed right beside the school at a cost of hundreds of thousands of rupees.

KATHMANDU, May 17: The ruling CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have reached a 'breakthrough' in talks aimed at forming a unified communist party, leaders from the two sides said.

KATHMANDU, April 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the planned unification between UML and CPN (Maoist Center) would be finalized soon after he returns from India visit.

KATHMANDU, March 28: Efforts to conclude the proposed unification between CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center) have come to an abrupt halt with the two parties driving hard bargain to secure a good deal in the unified left party.

KATHMANDU,  March 9: CPN (Maoist Center) is likely to select former deputy prime minister and multiple times minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara as its candidate for the new speaker of the House of Representatives.

KATHMANDU, FEB 28: The CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center), the two left parties which have decided to become one, have set up two sub-panels to help them draft the party statute and develop an appropriate model to integrate their sister wings.

KATHMANDU, Feb 27: Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli expanded his three-member cabinet to seven members on Monday, inducting ministers from major ruling partner CPN (Maoist Center) also.

KATHMANDU, Feb 23: CPN (Maoist Center), the junior partner in the ruling alliance, is likely to get seven ministerial portfolios including home affairs in Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s left coalition government.

Maoists joining govt today

February 21, 2018 07:00 am

KATHMANDU, Feb 21: Two Maoist parliamentarians will be joining the KP Oli-led government on Wednesday, as the UML and CPN (Maoist Center), two partners in the left coalition, intensify intraparty homework to give full shape to the cabinet.

KAPILVASTU, Feb 20: Cadres of Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN Maoist on Tuesday hurled a petrol bomb at a moving bus along the East-West Highway near Khairanipur of Kapilvastu district for defying the general strike imposed by the party.

KATHMANDU, Feb 9: CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal turned down a request from Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday to send Maoist ministers to the new cabinet arguing that they would join the government once there is a framework agreement on the proposed unification with the CPN-UML.

KATHMANDU, Feb 14: A day after agreeing to rotate the party leadership, UML Chairman KP Oli and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday decided to resolve other contentious issues pertaining to the planned left unity on the basis of consensus.

UML, Maoists a step closer to merger deal

February 13, 2018 06:00 am

KATHMANDU, Feb 13: CPN-UML's KP Sharma Oli and CPN (Maoist Center) chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, whose  parties are engaged in a merger bid, have agreed in principle to rotate the leadership of the proposed new party, raising fresh hopes of a unity deal on the left before the formation of the new government.

HUMLA, Jan 21: For the past 10 days, the Biplav led Maoist faction have seized daily food supplies and 300 mules in Humla and Mugu.  The move comes after local administration collected tax during transportation.

KATHMANDU, Jan 20: Top leaders of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have expedited negotiations on power-sharing in the new government and party unification, following UML Chairman K P Sharma Oli's return on Thursday from follow-up treatment in Thailand.

KATHMANDU, Jan 18: The CPN-UML has reached an agreement with the CPN (Maoist Center), its partner in the left alliance, on sharing of seats of the National Assembly. The 59-member National Assembly will comprise 56 directly elected representatives and three members nominated by the president on the recommendation of the cabinet.

KATHMANDU, Jan 15: Negotiations between UML and CPN (Maoist Center) to strike a power sharing deal for key constitutional positions have failed to gain expected success after the former staked claim to the post of President and Speaker of the federal parliament.

KATHMANDU, Jan 11: The UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have decided to begin formal negotiations to reach a deal on power-sharing for provincial governments and other constitutional positions.

KATMANDU, Dec 22: CPN-UML has bagged the most seats in the provincial assemblies under the proportional representation (PR) category.

RUKUM / DANG, Dec 22: After achieving clean sweep victories in the local elections held earlier this year, the elected local representatives from the CPN (Maoist Center) in Rukum made a big decision to validate the conflict-era land transactions carried out by the 'people's government' during the insurgency period.

Maoists attempt to attack on Devyani Rana

November 24, 2017 13:00 pm

SINDHUPALCHOWK, Nov 24: Maoist cadres attempted to attack on Devyani Rana in Sindhupalchowk.

CHITWAN, Nov 5: CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that the  killing of 38 people in the detonation of a bomb against a moving bus at Badarmudhe in Madi, Chitwan district on June 6, 2005 was the biggest mistake committed by the Maoists during their 10-year insurgency .

KATHMANDU, October 18: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday reshuffled his cabinet, taking away the portfolios of all ministers representing the CPN (Maoist Center).

KATHMANDU, Oct 18: In a dramatic turn of events Tuesday, ruling coalition partner CPN (Maoist Center) decided to quit the government and then immediately changed its mind, citing secret information that the prime minister was trying to postpone the upcoming elections.

KATHMANDU, July 17: CPN (Maoist Center) has attributed its defeat in the first and second phase of local elections to six factors.

KATHMANDU, July 17: Ruling coalition partner CPN (Maoist Center) has proposed to request Chinese government to build hydropower projects having combined capacity of 5,000 MW in any river basin in Built and Transfer (BT) model.

ROLPA, June 22: The beheaded body of Ramji Gharti was found in Mawang of Jaimakasla of Rolpa district late in the evening on February 1, 1997. Fifty-four-year-old Gharti, a local of Thawang Rural Municipality-5, was allegedly killed by the then insurgents. Later, police informed the family members about the death after recovering his body.

KATHMANDU, June 20: Unsettled by their dismal performance in the first phase local elections, the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Center) have  strengthened their electoral ties to check the main opposition UML.

KATHMANDU, May 29: The Election Commission (EC) has formed a panel to investigate into vote tear incident of Bharatpur Metro City.

KATHMANDU, May 29: Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Center) have expressed readiness to briefly postpone the elections after a section of the RJPN leadership signaled that they could reconsider their decision to boycott the polls.

DANG/RUKUM, May 22: While the government was preparing to conduct local elections back in 1992, Jhakku Prasad Gharti of Triveni, Rukum, was instructed by his Communist party to protest against the election.  The local administration arrested him and put him behind the bars for two months on charge of obstructing the polls.

KATHMANDU, May 20: As Sarbottam Dangol, the ruling CPN (Maoist Center)'s mayoral candidate for Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), has received very few votes in the initial counting, the candidate's team and the party leaders have started pointing out various reasons behind the poor performance.

Maoists lose influence in Gorkha

May 19, 2017 01:00 am

GORKHA, May 19: CPN (Maoist Center), then UCPN (Maoist), had won all three election constituencies of Gorkha in Constituent Assembly (CA) elections of 2008 and 2013. Its leader Baburam Bhattarai, who is now the coordinator of Naya Shakti Nepal, had won one of the constituencies, getting highest number of votes.

DOLAKHA, May 11: With the first phase of the local polls just three days away, rivalry has intensified among the political parties to such a level that they no longer hesitate to resort to violence in order to silence their competitors. This very mentality has led to the death of a son of a CPN-UML election candidate in Dolakha district Tuesday night.

GULMI, April 10: The CPN-Maoist led by Netra Bikram Chand has been conducting anti-election campaigns in Gulmi.

DANG, March 3:Rolpa, the youngest district of Rapti region was taking baby steps towards development when it was gripped by the armed Maoist insurgency. Development activities came to a grinding halt while existing infrastructures were destroyed. This pulled Rolpa backward in terms of progress. After a decade of conflict, the rebels entered peaceful politics and even came to power but Rolpa did not get the priority, it expected. This left Rolpa residents utterly disappointed.

Chand-led Maoists step up extortion drive

February 15, 2017 00:10 am

KATHMANDU, Feb 15: As part of asserting its organizational presence, the Netra Bikram Chand-led splinter faction of the then CPN (Maoist) has intensified its extortion drive from businesspersons and institutions both within Kathmandu Valley and beyond, creating terror among them.

KATHMANDU, Feb 13: While various Maoist factions were commemorating their 22nd People's War Day on Sunday, conflict victims of the decade-long Maoist insurgency marked a Black Day, venting their ire against the snail-pace transitional justice process.

KATHMANDU, Feb 12. While Maoist cadres are marking the 22nd 'People's War Day' on Sunday, the Conflict Victims National Society observed it as a 'black day' and staged an hour long sit-in protest near the southern gate of the Singha Durbar.

KATHMANDU, Jan 12: Election of the parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson scheduled for Wednesday was canceled at the last hour following a dispute between CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) over divvying up the chairperson positions of various 14 parliamentary committees.

KATHMANDU, Oct 22: Lawmakers and leaders of the CPN (Maoist Center) have been pressing the party leadership to make the impeachment motion against Lokman Singh Karki, suspended chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a success through the forging of a consensus among the three largest political parties.

CIAA summons Maoists over cantonment funds

September 17, 2016 00:40 am

KATHMANDU, Sep 17: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has summoned leaders and other members of the ruling CPN (Maoist Center) to investigate into the alleged irregularities at Maoist cantonments.