Divine intervention to help king of Nepal?

The Telegraph Nepal online on Friday reported the Naya Patrika daily as saying that Gyanendra performed such a ritual at the private residence of his sister, Sova Shahi in Kamaladi, Kathmandu.

The religious ritual that continued for the whole night was organized on April 30, which was Gyanendra’s 38th marriage anniversary, Naya Patrika said.

Queen Komal, Crown Prince Paras, Crown Princess Himani were also present on the occasion, it said.

The CPN-Maoist has been demanding the abolition of the monarchy since they ended their decade-long civil war after inking a peace deal in November 2006 with the government that took over from the king.

The Maoist leadership has said they have already started consultations with various political parties and diplomatic missions about a ‘graceful exit’ for the king to end the centuries-old Shah dynasty.

Nepal’s seven main parties, including the Maoists, teamed up in April 2006 and orchestrated weeks of protests and unrest that resulted in Gyanendra giving up dictatorial powers he had seized the year before.

Nepal’s Supreme Court last month upheld a declaration of the parliament to strip the king of all his powers, dealing a major blow to the pro-monarchy supporters who hoped to halt the expected abolition of the institution.

Maoist chief Prachanda, who is poised to head a coalition government led by the CPN-Maoist, had expressed his desire to meet Gyanendra to persuade him to quit the royal palace. He, however, said the king would be allowed to do business or other activities, including politics, if he desired so.