Alliance leaders call it meaningless exercise

Kathmandu, April 18:

King Gyanendra today conferred with former prime minister and senior leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Lokendra Bahadur Chand, former PM Marich Man Singh, RPP chairman Pashupati SJB Rana and president of the Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP) Badri Mandal.

Coming out from the Narayanhity Royal Palace after the audience, the leaders expressed optimism and indicated a positive outcome of the talks.

“I can only say that some positive outcome will surely come,” Chand told reporters. he expressed hope that the democratic process would be restored soon.

However, all the leaders tried to avoid queries on what had transpired during the talks. “I found the monarch worried about the current situation,” Singh said, adding that he was optimistic. “What I can only say is that anything that comes out will be positive.”

Rana said the King is “serious and positive” about solving the problem. He said he was glad to put his party’s views before the King. The Rana-led RPP has been saying that a dialogue and reconcialition between the King and the political parties can only solve the crisis.

Meanwhile, leaders of the seven-party alliance today said consultations with leaders and parties who are not in the alliance would hold no meaning.

Nepali Congress (NC) leader Gopal Pahadi criticised former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai for committing a “serious mistake for the first time” by meeting the King in such a situation yesterday.

The leaders, including Pahadi, ruled out chances of meeting the King unless he (monarch) invites alliance leaders through a royal proclamation and promises to hand over all executive powers and sovereign rights to the people.

Reiterating his party’s stance of the revival of the House of Representatives (HoR), Pahadi said the parties would sit for dialogue with the monarch only through Parliament. “Inviting former prime ministers for talks would hold no meaning,” Pahadi said at an interaction at the Reporters’ Club.

Critising Bhattarai, Pahadi said: “Now the party (NC) must seek explanation from Bhattarai or he must convince it that he spoke in favour of the political parties.”

Narayan Khadka of the NC (D) labelled the royal audience as meaningless.

Saying that the ongoing movement has been transferred to the hands of the people, NC leader Bhim Bahadur Tamang claimed that the movement has gained a new height and would soon turn out to be a decisive one.

Siddhi Lal Singh of the CPN-UML said it is “sad” that Kishunji went to the palace yesterday. Former minister Nilambar Acharya said there cannot be any compromise with the monarch now. “The movement has gained such a height that people would not agree even on a constituent assembly now.”

RPP leader Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan emphasised dialogue through consensus.