It may be Valentine’s Day but there is no love lost between Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and the opposition leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal. On Saturday, Dahal was said to be unhappy about the government's decision not to allow Nepali Police and Nepal Army to participate in the games organised to mark the 15th anniversary of People’s War. Republica reports:

Addressing the opening ceremony of the First PLA National Games organized at Dasharath Stadium to mark the 15th anniversary of the “People´s War”, Dahal said, “The government knowingly foiled some of the events.”

The Maoist chairman said such sporting events help people forget the bitter realities of the past. “But why are they hell-bent on foiling such events,” questioned Dahal. He, however, did not blame the security agencies for non-participation. “The police and the army are not at fault. It is the fault of those at the helm,” he said.

The prime minister, on the other hand, must be pretty mad about the fact that the Maoist party thwarted his proposal to let the High Level Political Mechanism figure out the details of integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants. Nagarik writes:

In a meeting called by the prime minister in Maharajgunj on Saturday, Nepal had proposed to let the mechanism decide upon the integration and management of the combatants, tasks he said were important to the peace process.

The Maoist leaders rejected the proposal saying there must be an end to the current political impasse before discussing the integration and management of the combatants.

Then Nepali Congress president, Girija Prasad Koirala, voiced his opinion adding that he and Maoist Chairman Dahal had a verbal agreement about how many Maoist combatants would be integrated in the security agencies. The Himalayan Times reports:

According to him, they had agreed that between 3000-5000 Maoist combatants could be integrated into the agencies.

“I had proposed some 3000 Maoist combatants to be integrated, while Prachandajee had suggested that 5000 combatants be merged in different security bodies,” Koirala said, reminding Prachanda of the agreement made shortly after signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 2006. “The number of combatants to be integrated should be in the region of that number.”

And, Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai had a word on the matter in Butwal on Sunday where he said a Maoist-led government would have to be formed before the constitution or a consensus on integration could materialise. Republica writes:

Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai said Sunday that the constitution drafting and integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants would not materialize without forming a Maoist-led national unity government.

"We have been pushing for a national government as the current government cannot take the peace process to its logical conclusion by completing the constitution drafting and integration process," he said. The Maoist vice chair argued that the possibility of forming a national unity government is increasing by the day.

And, some sad news:

Five people were injured, including a 45-year-old man who is in a critical condition, when a bus ran over roadside vendors in Chabahil, Kathmandu on Sunday. Angry residents torched three buses following the incident.

Two Nepali men were among the injured in the bomb blast that occurred in Pune, India on Saturday. The bakery, where the bomb was targeted, was owned by a Nepali man and most of the workers were also Nepali, it has been reported.