Kathmandu, March 31: Nepal’s former King Gyanendra Shah has been described as the main orchestrator behind violent protests that engulfed the nation this week. In a key meeting of the country’s pro-republican political parties, called on by Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Shah was labelled as the prime reason and orchestrator behind the violent demonstrations.
The parties accused the former king of undermining the constitution and conspiring to overthrow the federal democratic republican system, local media reported. Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak said that there was a consensus among political parties to unite for the protection of the constitution and to ensure national development and public security.
“No anti-constitutional activities will be tolerated,” Lekhak said, addressing the press after the meeting. Despite disagreements on various issues among the different parties, former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai who is also the chair of the Nepal Samajbadi Party (NSP) suggested that they must unite to counter the recent anti-republican activities orchestrated in the support of Shah.
“Gyanendra Shah has long been behaving as if he were still a king. The political parties and the government have overlooked it with mercy. However, the incident on March 28 was incited by him and was a criminal act. His actions have now crossed the line. That is why I have proposed in the all-party meeting that he must face legal action,” Bhattarai said while speaking to the press.
Meanwhile, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the fourth and the fifth largest parties in Parliament, were excluded from the all-party meeting on Sunday. Both parties are considered anti-republic forces, according to the leading Nepalese daily, The Kathmandu Post.
Earlier, the RPP, whose two leaders were arrested for being involved in the protest, also demanded a probe to ascertain what happened. The RPP said that the government should take responsibility for the violent clashes and dared the government to arrest the former king.
“We challenge the government to arrest the former king. We are very clear that we should not drag the king into controversy. We will show our strength if the government dares to arrest him,” party chair Rajendra Lingden said, addressing reporters. The party also threatened to take to the streets if their two arrested leaders — senior vice president Rabindra Mishra and General Secretary Dhawal Sumsher Rana — are not released.
The two leaders, however, were charged with treason by the Kathmandu District Court (KDC), which also extended their remand till Tuesday. Additionally, the police have arrested around 100 people, but only 42 have been brought to court, and the investigation has progressed, according to a report by The Himalayan.
Tension ran high in certain areas of the capital city, Kathmandu, on Friday as two people died and hundreds were injured in violent clashes between security personnel and pro-monarchy protesters, who were calling for the restoration of the abolished monarchy in Nepal.
IANS