Maoists rejects NC proposal of Koirala as Nepal's first President

Kathmandu, June 7 : Home Minister and Nepal Congress (NC) leader Krishna Prasad Situala on Saturday met Maoist chairman Prachanda and made a "formal request" to make the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala the first president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, which was later turned down by the Maoists.

After the meeting, Prachanda said his party is not ready to accept Koirala as the president.

"Girija Babu can no longer be accepted as the President or the Prime Minister of this country... he can however, act as a guardian," Prachanda said.

He further added that any presidential hopeful must quit all the posts in his/her party.

Prachanda further said his party would go for constitutional amendment- to introduce the single majority provision to depose the Prime Minister- on the conciliation that parties give clear assurance that they wouldn't engage in power struggle like in the past.

The Maoists, who emerged as the biggest party in the April 10 election, winning 220 seats in the 601-member Constituent Assembly, have staked claim to lead the next government.

However, under pressure from NC, the second biggest party with 110 seats, and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), the Maoists gave up their claim over the post of President.

ANI