After Maoists, Communists eye power in Nepal

Kathmandu, Nov 29 - As a historic battle over the fate of embattled King Gyanendra resumes in Nepal's parliament Thursday, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala now faces a cut-throat contest with the Communists, the second largest party in his ruling coalition, eyeing the top executive post in the country.

The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), the traditional rival of Koirala's Nepali Congress party, is now ready to quit the marriage of convenience it had entered into two years ago in a bid to oppose the king after he seized power with an army-backed coup.

After days of speculation over a secret pact between the Communists and Maoists to sack the king and the prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, chief of the UML and a former deputy prime minister, has now come out in the open about his desire to step into Koirala's shoes.

'If I am made prime minister by mid-December, I can hold elections by April and bring lasting peace,' Nepal said late Wednesday during a popular BBC programme.

Flaying Koirala and his aide home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula for the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, Nepal said a government led by his party would be able to restore security in the turbulent Terai plains, curb criminal activities and control the Maoists.

Warning of a crisis if the twice-deferred election was not held by April, the Communist leader said during the 'Sajha Sawal' programme recorded in Kavre district in central Nepal that a government headed by his party would be able to transform the country in five years.

The no-holds barred Communist attack came on the eve of the resumption of parliament.

On Thursday, the ruling parties and the Maoists will begin anew their battle over Nepal's two-centuries-old monarchy.

The Maoists, who quit the government in September and blocked the November election, are demanding the immediate abolition of the throne and the adoption of a fully proportional election system.

The demands, which at first seemed doomed to fail, received unexpected backing from UML, and won a simple majority in parliament.

The alliance fuelled reports that the Maoists had in exchange offered to topple Koirala and hand over the premiership to Nepal and created a rift in UML.

The Communist chief's statements bode a stormy winter session and cast a cloud over the efficacy of the meeting of the top parties to be held Thursday, before parliament convenes, in a last-ditch attempt to thrash out an agreement.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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