The government is intent on taking action against Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal

Speaking at an interaction programme in Kathmandu on Saturday,
member ofUnified CPN (Maoist)'s central secretariat Barsha Man Pun
claimed that some regressive forces are plotting to mount a Bangladeshi
model of army coup in the country.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal met President Dr Ram Baran Yadav at Shital Niwas on Sunday to discuss the army chief issue.

During the meeting Prime Minister Dahal is said to have told President Yadav, who is the Supreme Commander of the Nepal Army, that the government is intent on taking action against Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal despite pressure from various quarters to forgo such a plan.

President Yadav on his part advised Dahal to reach consensus with political parties before taking any decision on the army chief.

PM Dahal's meeting with the President comes a day after the Unified CPN (Maoist)'s central secretariat decided to seek political consensus for taking action against Katawal. Sources say the Maoist party is adamant on ousting the army chief even if this move forces it to quit the government.

Earlier, Maoist leaders had publicly criticised the President over the CoAS issue for "not acting as a ceremonial head and trying to play the executive role".

However, the President's office on Friday issued a press statement, refuting news reports that the President had in his letter to the PM had advised him not to take action against Katawal.