Prachanda serves ultimatum on govt

Wrapping up the second phase of Maoists’ anti-government agitation in the Nepalese capital, Prachanda asked the 22-party government led by Premier Madhav Kumar Nepal of CPN-UML to fulfil his party’s demands by November 20.

General strike

He warned that if “civilian supremacy” is not restored and President Ram Baran Yadav’s “wrong” step of reinstating the then army chief Rukmangad Katwal not rectified through a parliamentary discussion in a week’s time, his party will launch a general strike and other forms of strong protests.

Addressing the Maoists’ public meeting outside the ‘Singhdurbar Secretariat’, the seat of the government whose functioning was paralysed by the protest, Prachanda termed their two-week-long agitation as “successful” and thanked the people for their participation.

His comments came a day after Prime Minister Nepal urged him to withdraw the agitation and come forward for dialogue.

“I urge all to show the required flexibility and accept the current political reality,” Nepal said in a statement.

Despite his call, Maoists surrounded the ‘Singhdurbar Secretariat’ for the second straight day as part of their protest aimed at dislodging the 22-party administration as authorities tightened security to prevent further violence.