After just four months in office, the Maoists say the main opposition party, the Nepali Congress, is continuing to block their ambitious reform programme to a point where remaining in government is pointless.

Maoist officials said if the deadlock continued, Prime Minister Prachanda would step down and take his government with him - a move that would deal a major blow to Nepal's peace process.

'It is useless for us to stay in the government if we, bereft of support, fail to work as per the aspirations of the people,' Mr Prachanda told reporters.

Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP: 'Congress objects to everything we do or try to do. They don't help us in government in any way, and when we try to do something, they create hurdles.'

The Maoists ended their decade-long 'people's war' in 2006, won landmark elections in April and swiftly ended the world's last Hindu monarchy.

They now want to push through sweeping land reforms, and finalise the peace process by having their former rebel fighters - currently confined to United Nations-monitored camps - integrated into the national army. -- AFP