As the situation in Nepal gets more tense by the day with the Maoists calling for an indefinite strike from tomorrow,India has thrown its weight behind the current coalition government. In fact,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has told his Nepalese counterpart Madhav Kumar Nepal that New Delhi has full confidence in his leadership. It is learnt that Singh conveyed this to the Nepal PM during a conversation on the sidelines of the recently concluded SAARC Summit in Thimphu. He is believed to have said: We have full confidence that the government which enjoys the support of majority of parties in Nepal would be the one to deliver on the peace process and the new constitution. We have full faith that under your leadership the resolute and forceful government can meet these challenges. However,sources said,India is also working the back channels with Nepals Maoists,telling them that there can hardly be any meeting ground until the Maoists give up their insistence on having only Prachanda as their PM candidate. These efforts have not yielded much result till now as the Nepal Maoists passed a resolution on Friday naming Prachanda as their sole PM nominee. With an estimated 1 lakh Maoists having gathered in and around Kathmandu for the Labour Day rally today to demand the ouster of the current coalition government,authorities are gearing up for an extended stand-off given that Maoists have called for an indefinite strike from tomorrow. In this context,Singhs words to the Nepal PM come as a strong boost for the coalition government. Buoyed by Indias support,Madhav Kumar Nepal convened a meeting of the National Defence Council as soon as he returned from Thimphu on Friday and decided to use the Army if the situation went out of control. The Nepal Army has since been put on alert. When he left for Thimphu,the Nepal PM was on unsure footing. If the Maoists were creating trouble for his government,his party chairman Jhala Nath Kanal was challenging his legitimacy from within the Communist Party of Nepal (UML). At this point,another party senior functionary,K P Sharma Oli,emerged as a key factor. Over the past few weeks,Oli was in Delhi ostensibly for medical treatment. During his stay,the senior Nepalese leader had several consultations and,on his return,he backed the current government as well as the PM,which left the Kanal faction isolated within the party. The CPN politiburo then passed a resolution supporting Madhav Kumar Nepal. Gradually,all other parties,including the Nepali Congress,have come out in support of the current government,saying that any change must be through constitutional means. While this has strengthened the hands of the Nepal PM,it has also sharpened the divisions with the Maoists. Presently,the Maoists are keen to re-install their government after Prachanda resigned following the Army Chief controversy. However,the real issue remains the extension of the Constituent Assembly beyond the deadline of May 28. This can only be done through a resolution passed by two-thirds majority in the Assembly. For this,the Maoists have to be on board and they seem to be laying the pre-condition of being allowed to form the government in Kathmandu. In this context,sources said,any such negotiation of Maoists returning to power must begin with a show of flexibility on the leadership issue. India,for one,is not comfortable with Prachanda coming back at the helm and as of now,the Maoists are not inclined to consider any other name. If the Maoist stand were to alter in due course,New Delhi too is not ruling out reconsidering its stand.
