US playing a game against Maoists: Former Indian envoy

Former Indian envoy to Nepal Dev Mukherjee 'cautioned' his government against what he called a game being played by the US against the Maoists in Nepal. He said this might lead to strong Chinese reaction, Kantipur daily reported.

According to the daily, Mukherjee, while speaking at a seminar in New Delhi on "Emerging Situation in Nepal : Policy Options for India" organised by Observer Research Foundation, a foreign policy think tank, on Friday, said India must be cautious about the US game in Nepal.

Stating that US government has been trying to deny legitimacy to Maoist led government in Nepal, he said this could lead to instability due to possible reactions by China, given the situation in Tibet.

Mukherjee claimed that US officials in Kathmandu and some people within the Nepali Congress party have been suggesting Prime Minister Girija Koirala to lead the next government and not hand over the leadership to the CPN (Maoist) which has emerged as the largest party through recent elections.

Terming the refusal of Koirala to step down from prime minister's office is against the people's mandate and that it would lead to a constitutional crisis in Nepal.

Speaking at the same programme, CPI leader D. Raja stressed on the need to review the treaty with Nepal as it has done with Bhutan last year. "I don't think the Indian government will have any objections," he said. nepalnews.com ia May 17 08