Kathmandu: Leaders of Nepal's coalition government have accused the Maoists of aiding the monarchy by creating a political deadlock that has led to the indefinite postponement of the crucial constituent assembly elections.

"Suspicion has been raised about a tacit understanding between the monarchists and the Maoists to defer the November constituent assembly poll," said Nepali Congress lawmaker Prakash Sharan Mahat.

"We are compelled to believe that there was a conspiracy behind the Maoists high-sounding call for unity among nationalist forces," he said. Pradip Gyawali, a senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-UML, said the Maoists were trying to prolong the monarchy's life by derailing the election process.

Maoists were ready to join hands with the pro-king forces when they talked about forging unity among the so-called "nationalists", they claimed. The constituent assembly election slated for November 22 to decide the fate of the 238-year old monarchy was deferred after the Maoists walked out of the government and announced a stir to disrupt the polls putting forth various demands last month.

Gyawali said the decision of the CPN-Marxist Leninist to boycott the 1979 referendum on the party less Panchayat regime had eventually prolonged the direct rule of the king as the regime won the referendum by a slight margin.

"We are afraid that the Maoists are repeating the same mistake today," Gyawali warned. The senior CPN-UML leader said the threats by the Maoist leadership to quit parliament and launch agitation has sparked fears of violence in the country.

Source : PTI