Thousands of youth activists of eight political parties on Tuesday demanded that the government abolish the monarchy and declare Nepal a republican state.
KATHMANDU: Angry at King Gyanendra's defence of his 2005 power grab, thousands of youth activists of eight political parties on Tuesday demanded that the government abolish the monarchy and declare Nepal a republican state, while some of them damaged statues of the royal family.
Over 2,000 civil society members, journalists and human rights activists staged sit-ins in front of the government secretariat complex 'Singhdurbar' demanding the immediate conversion of Nepal into a republican state and the fixing of the date for constituent assembly polls.
The activists damaged statues of royal family members in Banepa near Kathmandu and Biratnagar in eastern Nepal, as anti-King demonstrations sparked by King Gyanendra's defence of his February 2005 takeover swept through the nation.
The King in his Democracy Day message yesterday said he was compelled to seize power because the then government had failed to conduct polls and provide public security.
They asked the government to immediately declare Nepal a republican state through a resolution in the 330-member Interim Parliament.
Civil society leader and former Minister Devendra Raj Pandey, leading human rights activist Krishna Pahari and President of the Federation of the Nepalese Journalsits Bishnu Nisthuri led the sit-in.
The agitators chanted anti-King slogans and damaged a statue of late King Tribhuvan, the grandfather of the present King, at Banepa, 45 km east of Kathmandu. They also destroyed a statue of late King Mahendra, father of Gyanendra, according to a private radio.
Anti-King demonstrations were also held in Hetauda, Syangja, Diktel, Khotang and Mahendranagar.
"The government takes seriously the King's remarks defending his coup," Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitoula said.
"Any attempt by the King to cover up the February 1, 2005 takeover will be unfortunate," he said.
Tourism Minister and CPN-UML leader Pradip Gyawali said "The King's statement is untimely and is against the recently promulgated Interim constitution."
The King's Democracy Day statement posed a big challenge to the eight political parties, Maoist chief Prachanda said.
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