MAOISTS TRYNG TO INSTALL A PUPPET PREZ, CLAIM NEPAL'S PARTIES By Shirish B. Pradhan

Kathmandu, June 16 (PTI) - In a scathing attack, Nepal's
two main parties Sunday accused the Maoists of trying to
install a puppet president, intensifying the bickering that
has bogged down government formation for over two months.

"After failing to get the post of president for
themselves, the Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist have been
trying to prop up a weak and handpicked person for the post so
that they can exert influence on him," Nepali Congress
Vice-president Gopalman Shrestha said.

Under intense pressure from Nepali Congress and the
Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist
(C.P.N.-U.M.L.), Maoist chief Prachanda, the Prime
Minister-in-waiting, gave up his claim on the post of the
President but refused to back the candidature of premier G. P.
Koirala or any other leader of the two main parties.

"It is because of the Maoists' desire for capturing the
entire government that has delayed the formation of the new
government," Shrestha told P.T.I.

He questioned the Maoists' move to propose Madhesi
leader Ramraja Prasad Singh's name for the president.

Proposing Singh's name, "who does not has have his own
organisation, should not be seen as a favour to the Madhesis.
It is just to make a weaker person head of the state so that
they can dictate him whatever they wish," Shrestha said.

As per the new amendments to the interim constitution
the president will be the supreme commander in-chief of the
Nepal Army and will have the right to declare emergency.

"Since Nepali Congress and C.P.N.-U.M.L. both are old
and well established parties, the Maoists do not want to elect
president from these parties as they cannot dominate him,"
Shrestha said.

C.P.N.-U.M.L. leader Jhala Nath Khanal too blamed the
Maoists for the delay in formation of the government.

"The process of forming a new government has been
delayed as the Maoists have failed to give up their
arrogance," Khanal said addressing a workers gathering in
Dhading district near Kathmandu.

He expressed serious concern over the continued attacks
on his party cadres by the Maoists and even warned of
retaliation. "Now the U.M.L. cadres won't sit silently folding
their hands," Khanal said.

Earlier, addressing a programme in Kathmandu, Prachanda
accused "international powers" of creating hindrance
in their ascend to power.

"Some international powers do not want to see us in
power and head both the government and the state. In line with
their design, different conditions are set her to bar us from
ascending to government," he said yesterday without naming any
country.

However, the Nepali Congress leader refuted the charge
saying that the Maoists themselves were creating obstacles in
government formation after the landmark Constituent Assembly
elections on April 10.

Shreshtha said that the Nepali Congress "is not power
hungry but wants to fulfil its seven point conditions before
handing over power to the Maoists".

The conditions include "integrating the Maoists army,
destroying their weapons, dissolving their para-military
organisation called Young Communist League and returning
seized property. We cannot compromise with these," he added.

The Maoists with 220 seats in the 601-member assembly
cannot form a government on their own unless they get support
from other large parties like Nepali Congress (110 seats) and
C.P.N.-U.M.L. (103 seats).