The Nepalese general who was appointed acting army chief by former Maoist PM Prachanda has denied allegations that he was planning to stage a coup.Recently retired Gen Kul Bahadur Khadka has been accused of plotting the move with the help of the Maoist rebels.He was at the centre of tensions between the army and the Maoists 12 weeks ago when Prachanda sacked the army chief, Rukmangad Katuwal.That decision was reversed by the president and led to Prachanda’s fall.He resigned as prime minister in protest at the decision.Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Gen Khadka said New PM Madhav Kumar Nepal says that he wants to unify the country He said a powerful faction within the army was intent on bringing him down and a group of generals had gone to the extent of collecting signatures against him.At the height of the tension, there was even a front page report in a leading newspaper saying that Gen Rukmangad Katuwal and Gen Khadka were both preparing for separate coups.Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda eventually sacked Gen Katuwal and appointed Gen Khadka, despite strong protests from almost all parties in the parliament.But the President and Supreme Commander of the Army, Ram Baran Yadav, reversed the government’s decision on the same day Gen Khadka was appointed. The president then reinstated the sacked army chief.
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