Arrest former King Gyanendra Shah over remarks, says Nepal’s Bhattarai

People, however, responded by calling Bhattarai a “murderer” referring to the alleged killings of 17,000 people during Maoist led insurgency between 1996 and 2006 under the leadership of Bhattarai. Some Communist leaders expressed their support for Bhattarai, accusing farmer King of being used by certain ‘forces’ to derail the political changes since 2006.

Gyanendra, on the eve of 75th Democracy Day, on February 19, expressed concerns over the plight of the country and gave a call for public support to take Nepal to the path of prosperity and progress. He also said that giving up the throne in 2008 after the constituent assembly declared Nepal a Republic was not due to weakness, but a keen desire to see peace in the country.

Meanwhile, former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba called off his visit to India, moments before his departure to Delhi. He was going to participate in a seminar organised by India Foundation in Prayagraj. Sources said that he canceled his visit after the organisers informed him that meeting with PM Modi was unlikely.