Nepal coalition in crisis, PM in talks with opposition

Reuters :
Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was in talks with two opposition parties to form a new coalition on Monday, citing difficulties with his present ally, the centrist Nepali Congress party, one of his aides said.

Dahal, a former Maoist guerrilla leader in the mountainous nation sandwiched between China and India, formed a coalition cabinet dominated by the Nepali Congress party as well as other smaller groups last year.

But his Maoist Centre party, which is the third biggest group in the 275-member parliament, had criticized the Nepali Congress party for not giving a free hand to the prime minister and putting “hurdles” in removing some ministers with whom he was not satisfied.