Nepal's volatile politics seems is taking a turn for the worse with the possibility of the Maoists quitting the government. Maoist leaders have declared that their party, second largest in the eight-party government, would pull out soon and launch a nationwide agitation as their demand that Nepal be declared a republic before the November polls has not been met.Other parties, including the Nepali Congress, have opposed this “precondition for election” as being against an earlier consensus among the coalition partners that the fate of monarchy would be decided by the first meeting of the elected constituent assembly.In an apparent move to stabilise the situation, India’s foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon will be coming to Kathmandu on a two-day trip on Saturday. His visit is an indication of the fact that most international players have accepted India’s lead role in crisis management in Nepal, right from the King’s takeover in February 2005 to the ongoing preparations for the polls to the constituent assembly. But New Delhi seems to be worried about G P Koirala’s loosening grip over the government and widening fissures among the coalition partners.Maoists have also threatened that their withdrawal from the government would mean discarding all the agreements, including the 12-point one, signed between the seven pro-democracy political parties and the Maoists in New Delhi in November 2005.
