In a clear departure from the normal practice of any new Prime Minister visiting New Delhi first, Nepal’s newly elected Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda was all set to visit Beijing on invitation from the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

Prachanda was determined to leave for Beijing on a four-day visit ostensibly to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympic that Beijing has hosted, a Maoist leader said. And he was apparently keen to give a shape to his Cabinet that has been witheld following differences over controlling the key portfolios among the potential coalition partners.

Prachanda returned to the capital from a visit to Eastern Nepal where a severe breach on embankment of the Kosi river, an dam built by India, inundated a vast area displacing more than 40,000 people. He got into an intense consultation with two major coalition partners — Communist party of Nepal-Unfied Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) — on the Cabinet formation, which he hoped would take place on Thursday.

At the outset, he informed the two parties that he would not include the Maoist combatants or the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the security system of the Prime Minister’s office as well as the residence. Prachanda’s decision comes 12 hours after his meeting with Chief of the Nepal Army Gen Rukmangat Katawal, who apparently informed the Prime Minister that they would under no circumstances accept a private army in the official security set up. Prachanda was apparently keen to sort out all major differences with him by Thursday, so that he faced no problem flying to Beijing on Saturday where, among other things, he will be paying a visit to Mao’s hometown, a dream that he has cherished for long.

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