Kathmandu, April 7:

CPN-Maoist supremo Prachanda today said that his party, despite joining the interim government, has not abandoned the “people’s war”.

Addressing a gathering of intellectuals here today, Prachanda said, “Only the form and style of struggle have changed.”

Referring to Mao’s saying that struggle would not come to an end even if a party joins or forms the government, Prachanda criticised the United States for “conspiring” against his party and elections to the constituent assembly.

“United States knows that we have changed our form and method of struggle,” he said, charging the US with “trying to avert constituent assembly polls.”

The Maoist supremo also ridiculed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala for making remarks aimed at the Maoists during the 14th SAARC summit in New Delhi. “How confidently he (Koirala) said that he gambled his political career to bring terrorists into mainstream. Wait and see. The coming days will show who brought whom,” Prachanda said.

“We have had several rounds of talks with prince Dhirendra and were preparing our agendas for talks with king Birendra,” he said, adding that his party, then, also discussed proposing the late king to become a king like Sinhanouk “if he really loved Nepal.”

“We were holding our politburo meeting to discuss our agendas with king Birendra. But we could not hold talks with him due to the royal massacre,” Prachanda said.

In a statement issued today to mark the day when two previous historic people’s movements were launched, Prachanda appealed to all sections of the society to “be alert” against all sorts of conspiracies being hatched with an aim to “foil” the constituent assembly polls, which has been scheduled to be held on June 20 as agreed to by eight political parties last week.

He said that the 19-day people’s movement in April has paved the way for the formation of a republic.