Kathmandu, Apr.18 : A cabinet meeting held here this morning was suspended after Maoist ministers walked out of it demanding that the Cabinet consider their proposal on the announcing of a republic.

Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel, however, claimed that the meeting was postponed due to technical reasons.

Reports say that as soon as the ministers prepared to sit for the cabinet meeting at Baluwatar, the Maoist ministers tabled their proposal for immediate announcement of republic, which Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala refused to entertain.

Later, they walked out of the meeting, prompting Koirala to announce that the cabinet would now remain suspended until further notice.

Earlier in the morning, senior Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai had directed his party's ministers on how they should present their case at the cabinet meeting. On Tuesday, chairman Prachanda, too, had directed the Maoist ministers on how to implement party's policies and provide relief to the people.

At that meeting, the Maoist ministers were learnt to have complained that they were finding it difficult to work with bureaucrats with 'old mindset' and political appointees made by previous ministers in various government agencies under their ministries.

There are five ministers from the Maoist party in the current cabinet. They include Information and Communication Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Local Development Minister Dev Gurung, Forest and Soil Conservation Minister Matrika Yadav, Works and Physical Planning Minister Hisila Yami and Women, Children and Social Welfare Minister Khadga Bahadur Biswakarma.

This morning's cabinet meeting was to discuss crucial agendas such as Constituent Assembly elections; intensification of violence in Terai, electoral constituency delineation issues, among others.

This morning, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee met Koirala briefly and is reported to have discussed the recent political developments and uncertainty surrounding the Constituent Assembly polls.