Kathmandu:
Nepal's Maoist leader Prachanda said on Friday that his attempt to redefine the country's traditional ties with India and China had led to the fall of his government as the former rebels ended their blockade of Parliament for lawmakers to elect a new premier on Saturday.
Prachanda said a situation had been created where he had to resign as prime minister as he tried to reframe the relationship with Nepal's neighbouring countries in a new perspective.
The Maoist supremo had earlier accused India of interfering in Nepal's internal affairs during the standoff with the army chief General Rukmangad Katawal.
A situation had arisen that led him to resign from power as his party tried to look into the relations with neighbouring countries with a new angle, Prachanda said, adding that his party wants to maintain good relations with both neighbouring countries, including India and China.
Caretaker Premier Prachanda, who had sparked the latest political crisis on May 4 when he resigned, told lawmakers that his attempt to redefine Nepal's traditional relations with his two giant neighbours India and China had triggered his government's fall.
"I deeply feel that the historical necessity for redefining Nepal's relations with the two countries have not yet been completed but the traditional concept of big brother and the smaller one continued," he said.
The caretaker Nepalese premier also mentioned that he had tried to break with tradition by visiting China first during the Olympic Games shortly after assuming the office last year.
Prachanda had sparked a row when he visited Beijing in break with tradition where Nepali leaders made New Delhi the first port of call after taking office.
Meanwhile, Nepal moved closer to choosing a new government to ease the country's political crisis as the Maoists ended their over two-week long blockade of Parliament with an address by Prachanda on Friday, who justified the sacking of the army chief to uphold "civilian supremacy".
Veteran CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, who has the support of 355 lawmakers in the 601-members Constituent Assembly, is set to form a new coalition government with the key backing of second largest party Nepali Congress and the Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum along with 20 other smaller groups.
In his address to Parliament, Prachanda repeatedly questioned the morality of the political parties who sought to isolate the Maoists, saying that the new government might just be a "puppet".
Describing President Ram Baran Yadav's move to reinstate General Rukmangad Katawal as "unconstitutional and undemocratic", Prachanda said he had fired the army chief to maintain "civilian supremacy" in the country.
Speaker Subhas Nemwang announced that the Prime Ministers election will be held tomorrow afternoon as per the direction of President Yadav.