KATHMANDU: Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Prachanda, on Saturday laid down his party's political roadmap for future, and said he himself would lead the rebels in the "high-level" dialogue with the government.

Issuing a statement, Mr. Prachanda said that a recently held central committee meeting of his party decided that the rebel dialogue team be led by himself. The Maoists have also formed a three-member dialogue preparatory committee, headed by party spokesman and Mr. Prachanda's confidant, Krishna Bahadur Mahara. "The team will prepare ground for high-level dialogue," said the rebel statement. A senior minister told The Hindu that the government team would be headed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. "But that's a long way off," said the minister, requesting anonymity.

This is for the first time that Mr. Prachanda himself will be heading the rebels in the negotiating table. Three rounds of dialogue were abandoned in the past for lack of their success. The first dialogue was held in 2001 and the second and the third in 2003. Over 13,000 people have died since the rebels started armed insurgency ten years ago.

The rebels have also proposed their roadmap for future. The roadmap sequences the future political course in the following order: Finalisation of the code of conduct, formation of full talks team, release of all political detainees, beginning of the dialogue, dissolution of the House and the current government, scrapping of the constitution, political round table that will form an interim government and interim constitution, redrawing of the election constituencies, election to the constituent assembly under credible international monitoring and, finally, restructuring of the Nepali state and the army.

The rebel leader has also cautioned on the possibility of a counter revolution in the country and has warned the seven party alliance (SPA) that his party was ready to lead another public uprising if they did not honour people's aspiration for a republic.

Observers say the rebel roadmap could be problematic for the parties, for they do not contemplate dissolution of parliament and the present government anytime soon.

A senior leader of the Nepal Congress, and lawmaker, Ramchandra Poudel, told The Hindu that parliament would not be dissolved leaving a political vacuum. Another lawmaker Pari Thapa said, "Parliament will not be dismissed until the modality and procedure of the election to the constituent assembly is agreed upon." But the rebels have categorically said that the House of Representatives and the government should be dissolved soon after the beginning of the dialogue, paving way for the formation of an interim government.

The House of Representatives on Saturday unanimously elected Subash Nembang, a CPN-UML lawmaker, Speaker. Nembang, a lawyer by profession, is a former Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs.

Breaking the tradition of taking the oath of office at the royal palace, Nembang took the oath of office at parliament.

The Speaker's post had fallen vacant after Tara Nath Ranabhat resigned as Speaker under pressure from the SPA immediately after the House was reinstated. The lawmakers were angry with Ranabhat for his "dubious" role during the King's direct rule.

He had refrained from criticising the king when he seized absolute power on February1, 2005.

He had also rebuffed parties' request to him to chair the "mock" sessions of parliament that the parties held on the street.

A cabinet source on Saturday revealed that Chief Secretary Lok Man Singh Karki was among the suspended officials by the government on Friday.

The government had suspended chiefs of the three security agencies, along with six other senior security officials.

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