A senior official from Nepal’s ruling Communist Party (UML) told Sputnik India that there would be “consequences” for pro-monarchist protesters seeking to overthrow the government and reinstate former King Gyanendra Shah.
While no foreign power is directly involved in supporting the ongoing pro-monarchy protests in Nepal, there are fears in political circles that some “fundamentalists” could be behind these anti-government demonstrations, a senior official from the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), or CPN (UML), told Sputnik India on Wednesday.
“Our expectation is that India, as the world’s largest secular democratic republic, would back the aspirations of the Nepalese people and oppose these pro-monarchy protests,” Rijal stated.
Separately, a statement by CPN (UML) on Tuesday strongly condemned the “baseless and misleading” reports in sections of domestic and international media, which claimed that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has accused India of “conspiring to remove him from office”.
The party statement stressed that media reports claiming the Prime Minister called for King Gyanendra Shah’s arrest are false and intended to tarnish Nepal’s leadership, emphasising that these reports do not represent the views or position of PM Oli.
The ruling party has said that it remained steadfast in promoting a “principled foreign policy”, which was rooted in mutual respect, constructive dialogue and regional cooperation.
These statements come amid a renewed round of political unrest in Nepal, where pro-royalists entities have been staging protests demanding reinstatement of the Hindu monarchy in the wake of former and the last monarch King Gyanendra Shah returning to Kathmandu on 9 March.
The Himalayan country, which borders India and China, adopted a new constitution in 2015, replacing an older 2007 version. The Constitution came into being at the end of a long-drawn civil war under the former monarchy.
“There’s no precedent of monarchy being restored in any country in the world. The former king is a billionaire businessman. He is enjoying his rights like any other citizen. There isn’t any threat to his safety or liberty in Nepal,” Rijal stated.
He recalled that even though the monarchy has had a long tradition in Nepal, making it the only country to ever have had a Hindu monarchy, there wasn’t any possibility that the royalists would make a comeback in the country.
Rijal highlighted that not only had the ruling party and opposition coalesced around the republican setup in view of the threat from pro-monarchists, but also the Madhesi—people living in the Nepalese plains adjoining the Indian border—had opposed these protests.
Source – Sputnik India, 26 March, 2025.
