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Morning Starter: Friday, December 13, 2019

Good morning!

Here’s a quick summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from Thursday to kickstart your Friday.

Important

Paudel camp boycotts CWC meeting

L-R: Nepali Congress leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Paudel

The faction led by senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel boycotted the party’s central working committee meeting on Thursday citing the party president Sher Bahadur Deuba did not incorporate the camp’s suggestion regarding the agenda. The Paudel camp had demanded that the meeting also discuss the proposed schedule of the party’s 14th general convention. However, Deuba did not heed the suggestion as he wanted to extend the term of his presidency by around one and a half years, it has been learned.

Meanwhile, the dissatisfied faction is holding a meeting at the residence of party leader Prakash Man Singh to discuss the next steps.

Firecracker kills Janakpur child

An 11-year-old child from Janakpur-13 of Dhanusha district succumbed to injuries he had sustained while playing with a firecracker.

Alok Raut had found an unused firecracker in Janakpur a few days ago. The firecracker was apparently left unused from the opening ceremony of the wrestling game under the 13th South Asian Games. After the child brought the firecracker to home, the child’s father Shobhit had snatched it away and thrown it, but the child had found it again.

Later, the firecracker exploded injuring himself. Raut breathed his last during treatment at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences on Tuesday.

Ignored

SAG costs govt Rs 3 billion

The opening ceremony of 13th South Asian Games, in Kathmandu, on December 1, 2019.

The government has spent around Rs 3 billion in hosting the 10-day South Asian Games, 13th edition, in the country. The cost, however, does not cover infrastructure maintenance and rewards distributed to the athletes.

National Sports Council member-secretary Ramesh Silwal says the government had allocated Rs 3.65 billion for the event, but the council was able to save some money owing to its austere spending.

The government spent Rs 150 million in opening and closing ceremonies, according to the council.

House panel, PSC at odds over staff transfer

File image: Public Service Commission office in Anamnagar

The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee in Parliament has recommended curtailing some rights of the Public Service Commission. When the recommendation is approved, the government does not need to seek approval from the commission to transfer the staff working at the commission.

However, the commission’s chairman Umesh Mainali has objected to the decision. If the House endorses the decision without any change and includes in the law, the commission will turn into a puppet, argues Mainali.

As the committee is also discussing closing down the regional offices of the commission, Mainali says the lawmakers have disrespected the commission’s role as a constitutional body.

Interesting

Commission begins National Assembly poll preparation after the announcement

File: Election Commission

Only a few hours after the government announced to hold elections of the National Assembly to elect a third of members of the Upper House, the Election Commission has begun preparations. On Thursday, the commission issued a notice telling political parties to register themselves for the polls. The constitutional body has given the time until December 22 for the registration.

The polls have been scheduled for January 23, 2020.

 

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