Nepal PM urges King to step down

NEPAL: Nepal’s Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has urged the embattled king to abdicate before upcoming polls, state media said increasing the pressure on the once revered monarch.

Koirala said King Gyanendra, who was forced to end an unpopular period of direct rule last year, should consider a ceremonial role or risk seeing the monarchy scrapped altogether.

“I have clearly told His Majesty that concept of minor king could be acceptable if he and Crown Prince Paras abdicate before the constituent assembly polls,” the prime minister said, according to Nepal Television.

“Otherwise there may not be any space for the monarchy after the polls.”

The elections expected in November will choose a body to rewrite Nepal’s constitution and decide the monarchy’s future.

Prime Minister Koirala is seen as one of the few political leaders who wants to retain a ceremonial monarchy, or “minor king,” in the impoverished Himalayan kingdom.

Gyanendra came to the throne after the 2001 massacre of most of the royal family by a drink-and-drug-fuelled crown prince Dipendra, who later killed himself.

Newspaper editor Kishore Shrestha was also present at the prime minister’s briefing of Nepali and Pakistani journalists.

“Prime Minister Koirala said that the king and crown prince have become unpopular and if they step down voluntarily it will be for the betterment of the country,” the editor of the Nepali-language Jana Astha weekly told AFP.

The king’s 14-month direct rule was ended in April last year by a wave of protests organised by former Maoist rebels and sidelined political parties.

He has been fighting for his dynasty’s survival after the fiercely republican Maoists ended their 10-year “people’s war” late last year and were given seats in government.

Last week, lawmakers gave themselves powers to abolish the monarchy with a majority vote in parliament if the king interferes in the assembly polls, which were a key part of the Maoist peace deal.

“The country is already heading towards a path of a republic, which is one of our major demands. We won’t accept any form of monarchy,” senior Maoist politician Dev Gurung told AFP.

King Gyanenendra, a member of the 238-year-old Shah dynasty, was once widely revered in his kingdom as a reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.

But today he appears only rarely in public. His vehicle was stoned by protesters in March at a religious festival in the capital.

The monarch had often embarked on choreographed tours around the country and international trips, but now spends most of his time holed up in a massive palace that dominates Kathmandu.

Since he was forced to end direct rule, the king has been stripped of his status as head of state and has been accused of abuse of power.

Kathmandu, Monday, AFP