Nepal activists accuse Gyanendra of trying to reinstate monarchy with backing of fundamentalists in India

Kathmandu: A group of civil society leaders in Nepal Monday slammed former King Gyanendra Shah for becoming "politically active with the aim of reinstating monarchy" and claimed that he has the backing of religious fundamentalists in India.

"Gyanendra Shah's descent into political activism subverts the nation-building efforts of his ancestors and carries the danger of weakening the country before its neighbours and the world," eight civil society leaders said in a joint statement.

"The royalist flank is willing to endanger the country politically and geopolitically at a time when Nepal's foreign affairs and neighbourly relations are at their most vulnerable," they added.

Gyanendra "has become politically active with the aim of reinstating monarchy in Nepal, which we the undersigned regard as being against the Constitution, aimed at sowing lawlessness for the benefit of opportunists, and carried out with the backing of religious fundamentalists in India," the statement said.

Noting that the three foundational pillars of the Constitution are democratic republic, federalism and secularism, it said that undermining any one of these pillars will destroy the delicate balance, leading to confusion, political instability and a faltering economy.

They claimed that Gyanendra "has been lobbying India's political establishment to get back to the throne in Nepal" and warned that "any move to return to the monarchy with the support of Hindutva fundamentalists of India weakens Nepal's sovereignty and independence".

It also added that BJP Chief Minister Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, who has hosted many visits by Gyanendra to Lucknow, has "publicly expressed his desire for Nepal to revert to monarchy".

"If the former king had resisted the temptation to play politics and understood his place, the Nepali public might have been agreeable to providing the clan of the country's founding king with a dignified place in national life, outside of the Constitution," it added. "Gyanendra’s latest bout of political activism, however, has ended that prospect."

Those who signed the statement include human rights activists Charan Prasai, Sushil Pyakurel, journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, former National Human Rights Commission member Mohana Ansari, senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi, civil society activists Hira Bishwokarma, Rajan Kuikel and Rita Pariyar.

The pro-monarchists have become active since democracy day in February when Gyanendra said, "Time has come for us to assume responsibility to protect the country and bring about national unity."

The pro-monarchists were organising rallies in Kathmandu and other parts of the country, demanding the reinstatement of the 240-year-old monarchy, abolished in 2008.