"Indeed, the current army chief, Rukmangud Katawal, has a reputation for being a strident royalist and Maoist-baiter.
Katawal had been adopted by Mahendra, the father of King Gyanendra, whom the Maoists fought hard to bring down in their aim to abolish the monarchy.
The army chief has long resisted the induction of the PLA into the Nepal Army, and courted trouble last November by beginning recruitment of 3,000 new soldiers before any former PLA had been folded in — a move made without permission from the Ministry of Defense, and against the provisions of the peace agreement.
Katawal also refused to retire eight monarchy-era generals according to the new government's order. Things came to a head earlier this month when he refused to let the Nepal Army participate in the National Games because the PLA was also taking part"
Time Magazine - Monday 27th April
Although PM Prachanda had said on Monday that the final decision on the CoAS row would come today, the row is likely to prolong further as there has been no consensus yet.
Maoist leaders told media personnel after the meeting they would take a decision in a day or two.
Earlier this morning, Prachanda met with CPN (UML) leaders at Baluwatar who came up with a ‘middle path’ proposal to end the ongoing row.
According to UML general secretary Ishwar Pokhrel, the party proposed asking resignation of controversial generals Katawal, second-in-line Kul Bahadur Khadka and defense minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and appointing the third-in-line of Nepal Army Chhatra Man Singh Gurung as the new army chief.
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