Kathmandu, December 25:

Flays govt’s dismal performance.

The 22nd meeting of the CPN-UML concluded today, adopting a thematic slogan for the upcoming eighth general convention to be held in Butwal from February 16 to 21.

“Eighth convention against status-quo-ism, anarchism and separatism; new constitution for federal democratic republic” is the theme of the eighth convention.

However, the party did not discuss the political report supposed to be presented by the party general secretary Jhala Nath Khanal. Krishna Gopal Shrestha, a central committee member, said the 23rd CC meet scheduled for January 4 would discuss the party’s combined political document to be presented at the general convention.

Shrestha said that today’s meeting heavily came down on Wednesday’s cabinet decision to declare around 8,000 people killed during the insurgency and other people’s movements as martyrs. He said the government’s decision to declare all of them as martyrs denigrated the image of martyrdom.

“Bittu Miya of Bara district, who was killed for raping a woman, has also been included in the martyrs’ list,” Shrestha said, adding: “Locals had beaten Miya to death when they found him guilty of raping the woman out to attend nature’s call in the wee hours.” But the names of UML former lawmaker Chakra Bahadur Dagaura Chaudhary and Yedu Gautam are not in the long list, he added. He said the CC meet also criticised the UML ministers for being mute spectators over the PM’s proposal to declare them as martyrs.

The CC meet also flayed the government’s decision to install thermal plants in the name of mitigating power woes, saying that it was too costly and environmentally polluting.

Shrestha said that the party would soon hand over a memorandum to PM Prachanda to mend his party’s ways and implement the agreements reached in the past. The party would quit the government if the Maoists did not mend their ways, he added.

The meet also raised serious concern over the misuse of diplomatic passport to be carried by CA members while on an official foreign trip. Reportedly, 70 Maoist CA members, 60 NC, 35 UML, 25 MJF, 19 TMDP CA members and Narayankaji Shrestha, also a CPN-Unity-Centre Masal CA member, have obtained the diplomatic passports.

As per the foreign ministry regulations, the diplomatic passport has to be returned to the concerned ministry after returning from the trip.