PM Koirala says king is not a symbol of national unity

Kathmandu, Dec 26 (UNI) Nepali Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala today said ''the King cannot be the symbol of national unity.'' Addressing party workers in his home town Biratnagar today, PM Koirala urged party workers ''to move ahead considering people as the supreme authority.'' ''King is not the symbol of unity,'' he told the party supporters and stressed the need of democratisation in every sector as per the changing times.

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi said that King Gyanendra no longer has any capacity to disrupt the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) elections.

''Following the decision to amend the interim constitution, the king has no capacity any longer to disrupt the elections,'' Kantipur quoted the NC General Secretary as saying.

''If the king attempts to do so, the interim parliament will immediately uproot whatever remains of the monarchy,'' he said.

Regarding the recent political understanding reached among the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA), Mr Nidhi said that the 23-point fresh understanding ensures the SPA's commitment to holding the CA polls by mid-April to turn the country into a federal democratic republican state.

Urging armed groups agitating in the Tarai to shun the politics of violence, Mr Nidhi, who represents Terai, said ''all agitating groups across the country should hold a dialogue with the government to resolve their problems in a peaceful manner and utilise the CA polls to later achieve their goals to the maximum.

UNI