Koirala asks Maoists to join move

King Gyanendra sacked the coalition government in February and seized power in a move he said was aimed at stemming the Maoist revolt.

"I asked them to come to the political mainstream and I told them your future is only in mainstream politics," Koirala told reporters at the airport on his return to Kathmandu from a nine-day private visit to New Delhi.

Koirala, who leads the Nepali Congress, Nepal's largest democratic party, said he spoke to the Maoists by telephone. He did not say who he talked to or when the conversation took place.