Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Nepal is bracing for renewed political confrontation after a Maoist deadline for the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal expired


Nepal is bracing for renewed political confrontation after a Maoist deadline for the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal expired Wednesday.

The leading parties in the ruling coalition -- Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal United Marxist-Leninist (UML) -- struck a deal with the main opposition Unified Communist Party of Nepal Maoist (UCPN-M) in the dying hours of May 28 to extend the term of the interim parliament by a year.

Under the terms of the 3-point deal the tenure of the Constituent Assembly (CA) would be extended and the parties would take decisive steps in the peace process while the prime minister would make way for a government of national consensus.

However, the agreement unravelled quickly with the Maoists giving Madhav Kumar “five days to resign”.

“They gave us a cheque,” Maoist Vice Chairman Baburam Bhattarai told the media. “We will soon go to the bank with that cheque. If it bounces, we know what to do

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