Nepal in political turmoil as PM quits

Nepal appears to be heading towards another political crisis even as the country's Prime Minister, Jhalanath Khanal, resigned apparently after failing to fulfill the promises he had made six months ago at the time of assuming the post, reported the New Delhi Television (NDTV). Khanal submitted his resignation late Sunday night to the country's President Ram Baran Yadav, added the TV report. "I have resigned to pave the way for a national consensus government," he said after putting-in his papers. The country has been prone to political crisis during the past couple of years, even as the armed rebels 'Maoists' have been calling shots in the process of formation of Government. The hilly nation has been in political turmoil, particularly since Maoist leader Prachanda quit as PM in 2009. Amid the PM's stepping down, political parties are reportedly scrambling to form a new coalition government and draft a new Constitution. Khanal, a moderate Communist leader, had vowed to carry out the promises made in the 2006 peace deal with Maoist rebels. However, political in-fighting blocked his attempts to help thousands of ex-Maoist fighters living in camps, and to prepare Nepal's first republican Constitution after the monarchy was abolished in 2008, added the report. Nepal has been in political turmoil since Maoist leader Prachanda quit as prime minister in 2009 in a conflict with the country's President over the control of the national army. The Maoists, who dominate the Parliament but lack the majority to rule on their own, are insisting on heading a new coalition government which must decide the fate of more than 19,000 former guerrillas and oversee the preparation of the new Constitution within three months. However, other political leaders are of the view that the Maoists must first disarm and dismantle their army camps before they are allowed to form a new coalition, a condition the former rebels have so far refused.