Minister Hints at Army Integration Panel Rejig

Kathmandu: The government is preparing to reconstitute the Special Committee for the Integration, Rehabilitation and Supervision of People's Republican Army (PLA) combatants. The committee is headed by former Prime Minister and UPCN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

According to Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Rakam Chemjong, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal would now lead the panel. "The reconstituted panel will complete the rehabilitation process. The technical committee has already started its work. We are doing groundwork to see of the technical challenges," Chemjong added.

Addressing an interaction organised at the Reporters' Club on Friday, Chemjong said the PLA fighters meeting the criteria could be integrated into the Nepali Army. "The PLA fighters can be integrated into the NA. Both the claims for and against the 100 per cent integration are wrong," he said, adding, "The PLA fighters are also Nepali people. The government is serious towards their plight," he added.

He also said the government would manage PLA fighters by forming a new mechanism or in other sectors of society.

What went wrong for India?

Kathmandu, June 17: India, who were taken as tournament favourite, crashed out of the World T20 Championship with three defeats out of three in their Super Eight fixture. The MS Dhoni’s men were also not convincing in winning against minnows Bangladesh and Ireland in the league round.

Though India were taken as tournament favourite, they were never near to it in terms of bowling, batting and fielding. Two years ago, they went to South Africa with a new captain and a bunch of inexperienced players. They had nothing to lose and against all odds, they went on to win the tournament. But this time, they came with heavy expectations and they were under immense pressure to deliver. Eventually, they perished.

In fact, apart from the inaugural World T20 championship in South Africa, India has never excelled in the shortest format of the game. Even though there were described as tournament favourite, they just couldn’t cope with those high expectations.

Secondly, most of the players were tired from the recently completed India Premier League. Captain Dhoni and his deputy Yubaraj Singh along with all the players played all the games in the IPL. They were very tired when they arrived in London and it was quite visible from their body language. They were not at their best.

Dhoni has already conceded that the team was not 100% fit. He also admitted the poor showing of big names in the side, including himself, as another cause behind his team’s early exit from the tournament. Dhoni is also accused of tampering with his batting order, especially at the No. 3 position. He himself came as No.3 batsman in the practice matches and later asked Raina to bat on the position. Raina, one of the most dependable batsmen in India’s middle order, did not perform well in any of the matches.

The Indian side dearly missed the absence of hard-hitting Virender Sehwag, who was ruled out due to shoulder injury. But media, especially the Indian ones, exaggerated the issue in leaps and bounds. They reported that Sehwag’s ouster was because of the rift with Dhoni. The issue became so big that the Indian team management had to parade all the players before media during a press meet. The issue distracted the team from the game and it ultimately led to India’s ouster.

India’s poor showing was the combination of factors: tired players, injuries, out of form batsmen, below par fielding and inept batting against short bowling. Perhaps the biggest reason behind their showing was the ‘favourite’ tag that media and other teams put on them.

Home Ministry: A Bone of Contention between UML, MJF

Kathmandu, June 16: When President Dr Ram Baran Yadav administered the oath of office and secrecy to him, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal might not have imagined that sharing ministerial berths among coalition partners would be such a troublesome job. But three weeks down the lane, Nepal is facing real trouble in sharing ministerial berths among coalition partners.

Though Nepal succeeded in forging a general understanding with the Nepali Congress regarding the sharing of ministerial portfolios, he has not been able to make peace with the Madhes-based parties. The latter have been demanding a respectable space in the coalition government, with Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) staking claim on the Home Ministry and another powerful ministry. Interestingly, the UML has already nominated its leader Bhim Rawal to head the Home Ministry. The situation further aggravated after Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala Monday requested PM Nepal to give Home Ministry to the MJF.

The PM is now caught in a dilemma. In one hand he is getting pressure from his party not to leave Home Ministry at any cost, on the other hand other coalition partners want the PM to give Home Ministry to the MJF. Nepal must take the Madhes-based parties in confidence to sustain his coalition government.

Now, the PM is left with only option: To forge a consensus in his party to leave the party's claim on Home Ministry. However, it will be difficult for the PM to take his party leaders into confidence, considering the division of party leaders into separate camps led by party president Jhala Nath Khanal, influential leader KP Sharma Oli and himself.

Meanwhile, the MJF is expected to renew its claim on the power-sharing meeting scheduled later on Tuesday. The meeting can't be expected to take a concrete decision in finalising cabinet, unless the UML decides to take back its claim on Home Ministry.