Nepal Highlights

Student bodies affiliated to various political parties including the one affiliated to the ruling UCPN (Maoist) have protested against the price hike in petroleum products announced by the government yesterday. Nepal Students’ Union, the student wing of Nepali Congress, All Nepal National Free Students’ Union, the student wing of UML, and All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union – Revolutionary, among others have announced condemned the price hike and urged the government to revoke it immediately for public welfare. Various 13-student unions are meeting Thursday to announce joint protest programmes against the price hike. Cadres affiliated to various unions have spontaneously started protest in front of their colleges Thursday morning. The student unions have blocked roads in front of some colleges in various places this morning in protest of the price hike. The government had hiked the price of cooking gas by Rs 175 per cylinder, petrol by Rs 10 per litre, and diesel and

The main opposition, Nepali Congress, is gradually giving up the position of a Westminsterial system inching closer to the Maoist position of a directly elected executive to ensure political stability in the country. Nepali Congress central executive committee is meeting at the party headquarters in Sanepa since Wednesday to determine the party’s position on the form of governance in the new constitution. Among the 17 central committee members who expressed their views on Wednesday, most of them spoke for an improved parliamentary system with a directly elected Prime Minister. Earlier, the party had been taking the position of a parliamentary Prime Ministerial system with prime ministerial elected and accountable to the parliament. Young generation leaders like Narahari Acharya and Gagan Thapa have been lobbying for reformed parliamentary system. The outcome of the ongoing central committee meeting of Nepali Congress is critical to determine the form of governance in the new constitu

UCPN (Maoist) has started cadre training Thursday as per the central committee decision to take dissenting views at the centre for discussion up to the grassroot level. At the first phase of the cadre training, chairman Prachanda and vice chairmen Mohan Baidya and Baburam Bhattarai will train state committee members of Newa and Tamsaling on the recent decisions taken by the party central committee. The training is beginning at Khanna garments.