Agitation spreads, India puts onus on Nepal's King Gyanendra

NEW DELHI/KATHMANDU:  King Gyanendra was on Thursday grappling with intense pressure from India to restore democracy in Nepal as at least four pro-democracy protesters were killed in police action when the agitation against the monarchy spread to new areas in the Himalayan Kingdom.

On the 15th day of protests against the ‘autocratic rule’, Manmohan Singh’s special envoy Karan Singh met the King at the Narayanhiti Palace and firmly told him to hold a genuine dialogue with constitutional forces and urgently restore multi-party democracy in the country to overcome the present crisis.

Karan Singh, who was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, expressed India’s readiness to support all efforts towards this end and emphasised that a lasting solution to the problems of Nepal had to be found by the people of the country through a political process.

Karan Singh handed over a letter from the Prime Minister and so far, there are no indications that the King is willing to blink in his stand-off with the country’s constitutional forces.

India, the palace and the political parties are tight lipped about the outcome of Karan’s Singh’s initiative. But a BBC report quoted Karan Singh as saying he was hopeful of a royal announcement soon that would “considerably defuse the situation”. “Now the ball is squarely in the court of the king,” Karan Singh told reporters in New Delhi on his return.

“In his interactions, the special envoy has stressed the need for genuine dialogue between the constitutional forces in Nepal, with the objective of urgently restoring multiparty democracy in the country in order to overcome the crisis that Nepal is faced with. He has conveyed India’s readiness to support all efforts towards this end while emphasising that a lasting solution to the problems of Nepal has to be found by the people of Nepal through a peaceful political process,” India’s foreign office said in a statement released in Delhi and Kathmandu.

Karan Singh, who has ancestral links with the Nepalese Royal family and is the former Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, had on Wednesday, after his arrival from New Delhi, held talks with Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and General Secretary of CPN UML, Madhav Kumar Nepal. 

More than one lakh people gathered at the Ring Road shouting anti-King slogans. Protesters pelted the police with stones who in return fired dozens of teargas shells to bring the situation under control. Residents in the area splashed water on protesters to counter the effect of teargas.

Thousands of protesters demanding restoration of complete democracy converged on several other places in the outskirts of Ring Road defying the curfew.

With the government sealing its lips, speculation is rife in New Delhi. One section believes Karan Singh’s mission was bound to fail, as he was a wrong choice.

Others are predicting a blood bath in Nepal and the inevitable end to monarchy. The optimistic view is the King will begin a dialogue with the seven party alliance and be forced to accept a ceremonial role for the monarchy.

(With agencies)