KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist is ready to join the government led by anyone should there be a consensus among parties, UCPN-Maoist standing committee member Barsha Man Pun ‘Ananta’ said here today.

Making a scathing criticism of the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led government, he said that it had neither a legitimate people’s mandate to draft the constitution, nor any competence to lead the peace process to a logical end.

“This government was formed just to derail the peace process and constitution-writing,” he claimed, speaking at an interaction organised by Reporters’ Club Nepal in the capital. He also ruled out any possibilities of army integration under the command of the present government.

On the question of army integration, he said that the Maoists, Peoples Liberation Army, Nepali Army and the Police have absolutely no hand. “It is solely the acute differences among parties that have obstructed it,” he commented.

He said that the only problem that soured the relations with his party and the Nepal Army was the former Army Chief Rookmangud Katawal, who he said posed as the new monarch after the fall of king Gyanendra and made political comments without informing the government. He said that the appointment of the new army chief has removed the ‘sourness’. “The new chief is not like Katawal and he will maintain good relationship with our party,” he said.

Pun also said that in a bid to impose President’s rule in the country, the Nepali Army was kept without its leadership for three days.

However, we went on saying there was no alternative to a national consensus government inclusive of the Maoists to push the peace process to its logical conclusion and draft the constitution on timely manner.

He said that a consensus government could only resolve the contentious issues bedeviling the nation and pave the way for drafting the constitution on time. He claimed the parties were yet to sort

out contentious issues, including modality of

governance, human rights, and federalism without which drafting of the

new constitution is next to impossible.

Pun said a secretariat should be formed for the reporting, monitoring and catering the PLAs under the Special Committee for the Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist combatants.