Nepal's opposition Maoists set a one-month deadline for the formation of a national unity government and vowed to launch an indefinite strike if their demand was not met.
The ultra-leftists won elections last year after they ended their 11-year "People's War" but quit the government in May over a row with the country's first president about the sacking of the army chief.
"If our demands for a national government and restoration of civilian supremacy are not fulfilled by the deadline (of January 24), we will go for an indefinite general strike the next day," said Maoist leader Prachanda.
Prachanda, who goes by a nom-de-guerre meaning "fierce one" although his real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has in the past spoken of a need for a national unity administration but has never set a deadline.
"We are giving a month's time to the government and political parties to consider our demands," Prachanda told cheering supporters in the capital.Police estimated the crowd who held hammer-and-sickle flags aloft at 10,000. Prachanda said the party would launch an "indefinite strike" on January 25 if its demands were not met.
"Nobody will be able to stop us when we launch our next phase of protest and it will be a decisive one," he said. The Maoists have held regular protests in Nepal, saying the president's move compromised civilian supremacy over the military.
{{/usCountry}}"Nobody will be able to stop us when we launch our next phase of protest and it will be a decisive one," he said. The Maoists have held regular protests in Nepal, saying the president's move compromised civilian supremacy over the military.
{{/usCountry}}They have called for an apology from the president and a parliamentary debate over the extent of his powers. Dahal's comments came at the end of a three-day nationwide general strike which paralysed the nation.