Kathmandu, June 17 : Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) has given a 24-hour ultimatum to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to facilitate formation of the new government.

In a meeting with PM Koirala at his residence in Baluwatar on Monday, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said Maoists will quit the government if consensus is not reached on formation of the next government under the Maoist leadership by Tuesday evening.

"The issues of People liberation Army management and return of confiscated property should have been settled before the Constituent Assembly (CA) election," he added.

Senior Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who accompanied Dahal said: "PM Koirala must step down for us to form the next government. Nepali Congress is intentionally prolonging the government formation process."

"All the issues raised by Nepali Congress can be dealt with along with the formation of the next government," Dr Bhattarai said, adding, "But the conditions shouldn't obstruct government formation."

In response Koirala said that the Maoists should first settle all other issues including management of arms and armies, return of confiscated property and dissolution of the military structure of the YCL before claiming the right to form the next government.

Koirala told Dahal that the people's mandate was for consensual politics, Kantipur reported. (ANI)