Koirala meets Prachanda to diffuse political crisis

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Kathmandu, Dec 21: Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala met CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda today in an effort to find ways to end the political stalemate in the Himalayan nation.

The meeting was held to forge an agreement on contentious issues after the Maoist leadership expressed dissatisfaction with regards to the draft of agreement prepared by the Seven Party Alliance. Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi, who was also present in the meeting, said, ''The discussion revolved around contentious issues, like ministry allocation between NC and the Maoists, formation of a steering committee for running the government, implementation of republic, electoral system and army integration.''

He added that the meeting ended positively, but was inconclusive. However, the Maoist source said the meeting failed to make any headway. It was decided in the meeting to hold a seven-party meeting tomorrow.

UNI