King has become a commoner: PM

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said his party, the Nepali Congress, would announce its stance on the future of monarchy before the Constituent Assembly election.
He also told Nepali journalists here that the king's status currently is that of a common man.
The PM said that the issue of the king and monarchy as a whole were part of his main agenda while approaching the people for the CA polls.
Replying to a query on whether King Gyanendra would allow the polls to be held in the country, Koirala said that currently the king's status is that of a civilian and that there is nothing to fear from him. "Whom are you talking about? King Gyanendra or Gyanendra? Be sure of his designation; he is like any civilian now," he said.
On the unification of the two Congress parties, Koirala said he would resume serious talks on the merger after he returns to Kathmandu. Stating that talks at various levels were on for resolving the Tarai problem, Koirala said he himself would chair the talks if need be. Koirala also said the coalition government should continue for the next few years in view of the country's weak economy.
On the Bhutanese refugee issue, he said he suggested the Bhutanese PM that he give the international community a surprise by simply inducting the refugees into the democratic process of Bhutan. The Bhutanese PM was positive, Koirala said.
Also today, Koirala met former Indian PM Atal Behari Vajpayee. The duo discussed the peace process in Nepal, the Tarai agitation and monarchy, the PM's foreign affairs advisor Dr Suresh Chalise said.
Koirala told Vajpayee that Indian cooperation was essential for holding the CA polls. Vajpayee assured Koirala of his cooperation in resolving the Tarai issue, Dr Chalise said.

Locals protest Maoist vandalism

Civilians and students at Ramnagar (Mirchaiya), protesting the Maoists' destruction of a private school building, today disrupted traffic on the highway for three hours - from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.
They demanded that the Maoists apologise for their act, return looted goods and restrict their entrance in the educational sector.
Traffic resumed after the local administration, the Maoists and the school administration agreed to hold a trialogue on April 23, the Mirchaiya area police office (APO) said.
Local Maoist cadres destroyed the building of Chandra Jyoti School that was being constructed by Dhaniklal Shah and Kishor Khatiwada on 10 katthas of land at Mirchaiya-4 at 11 pm on Tuesday. The Maoists took the construction materials away on a tractor.
"The Maoists were threatening since the start of the construction of the school building," Dhaniklal Shah said, adding that they had been claiming that the land belonged to Shova Shahi of the royal family. Shah and Khatiwada claimed that they purchased the land from Birenda Shah of Kalyanpur for Rs 30 lakhs last year.
Meanwhile, Maoist district secretary Abinash said that the land belonged to a relative of the royal family. "Our cadres stopped construction of the building.
Their stance was that the building should not be built on that land at a time when the process of nationalising the property of royal family has been initiated," he added

King has become a commoner: PM

King has become a commoner: PM

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said his party, the Nepali Congress, would announce its stance on the future of monarchy before the Constituent Assembly election.
He also told Nepali journalists here that the king's status currently is that of a common man.
The PM said that the issue of the king and monarchy as a whole were part of his main agenda while approaching the people for the CA polls.
Replying to a query on whether King Gyanendra would allow the polls to be held in the country, Koirala said that currently the king's status is that of a civilian and that there is nothing to fear from him. "Whom are you talking about? King Gyanendra or Gyanendra? Be sure of his designation; he is like any civilian now," he said.
On the unification of the two Congress parties, Koirala said he would resume serious talks on the merger after he returns to Kathmandu. Stating that talks at various levels were on for resolving the Tarai problem, Koirala said he himself would chair the talks if need be. Koirala also said the coalition government should continue for the next few years in view of the country's weak economy.
On the Bhutanese refugee issue, he said he suggested the Bhutanese PM that he give the international community a surprise by simply inducting the refugees into the democratic process of Bhutan. The Bhutanese PM was positive, Koirala said.
Also today, Koirala met former Indian PM Atal Behari Vajpayee. The duo discussed the peace process in Nepal, the Tarai agitation and monarchy, the PM's foreign affairs advisor Dr Suresh Chalise said.
Koirala told Vajpayee that Indian cooperation was essential for holding the CA polls. Vajpayee assured Koirala of his cooperation in resolving the Tarai issue, Dr Chalise said.