Prachanda to drop PLA from security, will visit Beijing

KATHMANDU, AUGUST 20: 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.

Chief of Foreign Affairs Cell of the CPN-M, C P Gajurel, said that Prachanda’s four-day visit that begins on August 23 is mainly to attend the concluding ceremony of the Olympic Games. But Gajurel dropped enough hint that India was not happy with this decision. Prachanda has a standing invitation from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to vist Delhi at the earliest convenient occasion.

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