King Gyanendra of Nepal vacates the Narayanhity Palace

The Communist Party of Nepal,(Maoists), had been clamouring  for a long time for  the establishment of a Republican form of government in Nepal, by formally ending the 240 year old monarchy.In the recently held elections in Nepal for the constituent assembly, CPN has emerged as the single largest party by winning more than 100 seats.The leader of CPN  Mr.Prachanda  has even set a deadline of one month for the King of Nepal Mr. Gyanendra  to vacate the traditional Narayanhity palace and if he fails to comply with the ultimatum, the King may even be forced to vacate the palace and driven to the forest.Therefore, it is upto the King of Nepal to ensure his graceful exit from the palace.

Under the circumstances stated above, Nepal’s embattled King Gyanendra has moved to a palace on the outskirts of the capital, just days ahead of a Maoist ultimatum to quit the  Narayanhity Royal Palace in Central Kathmandu before a key meeting on May 28 is expected to dethrone him.

King Gyanendra moved  from Narayanhity Royal Palace, situated some 7 km , west of Kathmandu, as political leaders in the country prepared to hold the first meeting of the  Constituent Assembly that is expected to abolish the 240–year old monarchy and declare Nepal  a republic.

Royal Palace sources however said that the visit of the monarch to Nagarjun was only ‘weekend  vacation’ though it has received unnecessary media attention.

‘The king left the palace on Thursday for Nagarjun on a week-end vacation and it is a normal phenomena’ said a senior palace official. ‘The king will return on Sunday or Monday to the palace.’ he added.

He also said Narayanhity royal palace is not totally vacated as Queen Mother Ratna Rajya Laxmi, octogenarian mother of  King Gyanendra, is still in the palace.

The Maoist leader Prachanda has already ordered the king to vacate the palace before the crucial meeting of the assembly, where political parties are determined to to abolish the monarchy and declare Nepal a Republic.The King of Nepal is now only a nominal head and he has already given up his dictatorial powers, in April, 2006.