Pavlovian response to abdicate-soon remark

Himalayan News Service
PM downplays it; royalists tight-lipped

Kathmandu, June 18:

 

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's widely-reported comment that if king Gyanendra and his son, crown prince Paras, abdicated, the ruling establishment could think of a minor as the monarch, triggered a knee-jerk reaction today, and Koirala, according to reports received by the newsdesk, downplayed the import of his remarks.
Reacting to Koirala's reported "suggestion" to the king and his son, Maoist generallisimo Prachanda said Koirala was trying to protect the monarchy by going against the decisions of the eight-party alliance.

"This indicates that the Nepali Congress is against the eight-party unity and it wants to see
the monarchy continue," Prachanda told reporters after addressing Maoist MPs in Singha Durbar.
His remarks undermine the second amendment of the Interim Constitution and also intimidate the importance of the decision the parliament has taken," Prachanda said.
Prachanda said his party does not want monarchy in any form.

Prachanda also accused the government of not showing eagerness to hold a Constituent Assembly election.
"Our leader (Prachanda) called upon us to prepare for Jana Andolan-III as Jana Andolan-II could not meet our demands in reality," Maoist MP Khim Lal Devkota said.
Prachanda said that the 12-point agreement between the seven-party alliance
and the Maoists was very clear on bringing in a republican set-up.

His deputy Baburam Bhattarai called upon the MPs to create an environment that would be favourable for state restructuring.
But Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala claimed that the remarks were "misreported by the media due to low English comprehension level."
He said this while talking to a group of reporters who had gone to Koirala's residence to cover the Nepali Congress (NC) Parliamentary Party (PP) meeting.
"I was misquoted. May be the problem was I had spoken in English and the mediapersons who disseminated my views had low English comprehension level," Koirala said, whenreporters asked him about his remarks reported in THT and other dailies.

Members of a delegation which had accompanied visiting Pakistani journalists to the PM's residence yesterday had said that Koirala had told them that he had told King Gyanendra and his son Paras "to abdicate before the elections, if they were keen to see that monarchy continued in Nepal." Koirala was also reported to have said that since Gyanendra and his son Paras were unpopular among the masses, they should leave the country before the elections, or stay on as businessmen, pure and simple.

Koirala also denied having said that a minor could be picked up as the monarch if king Gyanendra and his son abdicated. Meanwhile, talking to representatives of the striking teachers, Koirala said that he was committed to holding elections by mid-December and that the nation and the people could come under a worse scenario if the elections were not held. "I have taken the responsibility of my lifetime. I will see to it that elections take place."
AFP reported UML leader Jhala Nath Khanal as saying: "The PM's attempt to save the monarchy is unacceptable. Our party has always been in favour of abolition of the monarchy and will not review our decision in the future," he said.

A thorough scanning of the Internet and news agencies failed to provide any response by the royalists or yesterday's royalists to the PM's widely-reported 'abdicate-soon' suggestion.