Former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala will head Nepal's next government, senior Nepali Congress leader Arjun Narsingh K C said today after a long meeting of the seven-party alliance.A grand public meeting will be held on 27 April in Kathmandu where the new Prime Minister and the seven-party alliance will spell out exactly how it proposes to form the interim government and run it.However, the governance challenge before Koirala emerged immediately. The Maoists, led by their leader Prachanda, rejected the King's offer to reinstate the Parliament as a ploy to save his "autocratic monarchy," and said they planned blockades of the capital and major centres.Prachanda also warned of violence against anyone who tried to repress the protesters, thus reducing to tatters the 12-point agreement that was reached late last year with the seven opposition parties sidelined by King Gyanendra when he seized power in february 2005.The Maoists said the "so-called King's address" had failed to address their key demand for a republic and elections to a constituent assembly that could water down the monarch's sweeping powers during national emergencies."We want to make it clear to the seven-party alliance, those parties that have welcomed and supported the King's address have broken the 12-point understanding and have breached the aspirations of the Nepali people," Prachanda said.For the alliance it was business as usual. Having decided on the crucial leadership issue, the alliance announced it would implement their road map to restore full democracy and ultimately hold the constituent assembly election to resolve the crisis, KC said."The new government will move ahead as per the road map of the seven party alliance, and resolve the current political crisis including the Maoist problem," KC said.In Delhi, an important meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) was cancelled in view of the fast changing situation in Kathmandu. Curfew in Kathmandu was lifted as was the ban on pre-paid and post-paid mobile phone services, which had remained suspended for the past four days.India expressed happiness at King Gyanendra's announcement to revive the Parliament. "There was a great deal of confabulation before that (the King's decision). There was lot of talking by Indian side and lot of others. I think all necessary steps have been taken," National Security Advisor M K Narayanan told reporters in Berlin after the monarch's announcement.The US said the King should now consider assuming a "ceremonial role" in the country's governance.
