Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, May 15:

Leaders of the seven-party alliance today said they would not compromise with the King this time and vowed that they would restore democracy on people’s strength. The leaders also appealed to the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Rastriya Janshakti Party to join hands with the agitating parties for their cause.

Addressing a programme organised to mark the 16th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic National Youth Federation at Balkhu, CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said the monarchy betrayed the democratic forces despite the latter’s’ firm commitment to the constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy.

He said there was no need to labour under the illusion of reconciliation with the institution.

“The way the monarchy is moving ahead, we are forced to believe that constitutional monarchy and democracy are mutually exclusive,” Nepal said accusing the King of misusing the Article 127.

Contrary to Nepal, Rastriya Janshakti Party president Surya Bahadur Thapa stressed the need for reconciliation with the King to restore democracy and find solution to “terrorism”.

Thapa, who has been tipped as the next alternative to the present crisis, warned that time for the reconciliation with the King was running out fast.

“I cannot predict right now what will happen tomorrow if both the sides failed to grab this opportunity before it is too late,” Thapa said, adding that a single power centre would not be able to bail out the country from current crisis.

He also stressed the need for creating a democratic base as defined by the constitution and, then, showing ‘charisma’ to restore peace.

He also warned the nation would fall prey to “terrorism” if the democratic forces

and the monarch remained adamant to their stances and did not patch up their differences.

RPP spokeswoman Roshan Karki also agreed with Thapa and said mutual confrontation would not help find peaceful solution to the constitutional and insurgency-related problems.

She, however, conceded that the parties resorted to agitation after the King started “direct rule”.

CP Mainali, chairman of the United Left Front, said the monarchy’s high political ambition, Maoists’ extremism, Nepal’s geo-political position and political parties’ weakness in handling country’s socio-economic problems were responsible for the political instability.

Pari Thapa, vice-chairman of the Janamorcha Nepal, said that the establishment should agree with the political parties’ agenda instead of vice versa.