Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala began a tour of districts of east Nepal Sunday to study the impact of the seven year Maoist insurgency and prospects for rehabilitating of displaced persons.

Koirala plans to also visit districts in the central and mid-western regions as well, he said. Koirala primarily blamed the government for delay in launching peace talks following a January 29 ceasefire between the Government and Maoists to end a seven year communist insurgency.

“The delay in forming the government negotiation team for talks with the rebels is suspicious. The government has to take responsibility for the delay in launching the talks,” Koirala told reporters Saturday before launching his regional tour.

Koirala said the Nepali Congress will not disrupt the proposed talks. “We have no intention of disrupting the peace process,” he said. nepalnews.com br April 6