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Nepal's former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba termed the sudden move of King Gyanendra to dismiss him and his Cabinet as unconstitutional while leaders of the opposition parties and intellectuals expressed shock. But it was business as usual in the capital of the Himalayan kingdom a day after the royal address, which is expected to have far-reaching political and constitutional implications.
"I am surprised," Deuba said. "As far as I have understood, I cannot be removed like this. This is an extra-constitutional move. I wanted [the] election, and postponed it [only] because everybody wanted me to do so."
Deuba's Cabinet decided to recommend to the king the postponement of the general election, which was scheduled for November 13, 2002, till November 19, 2003, after a meeting on Thursday.
Like most Nepalese, Deuba learnt of his ouster after watching the monarch's televised address, which in itself is a very rare event, on the state-owned Nepal Television late at night on Friday, October 4.
In the address, the king announced Deuba's removal on the grounds of his incompetence to hold the scheduled November election, and assumed executive powers under Article 127 of the constitution, which empowers the monarch to resolve constitutional difficulties.
"Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba should be relieved of his office owing to his incompetence to conduct the general election on the stipulated date in accordance with the constitution," he said.
King Gyanendra also said another council of ministers comprising people with clean images would be formed within five days. The ministers, however, would not be entitled to contest the election. This council of ministers would also be given the responsibility of holding the next general election and restoring law and order in the conflict-wracked country.
The royal announcement has touched off a lot of confusion in political and intellectual circles. Madhav Kumar Nepal, leader of the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal, United Marxist Leninist, in the dissolved lower house of parliament, expressed shock at the development. So did many other political leaders.
"It [the king's move] was unexpected and impractical," Nepal said.
"We have taken the new political development very seriously," added Nepali Congress spokesman Arjun Narsingh K C.
The vice-president of the People's Front of Nepal, Lila Mani Pokharel, flayed the move, saying, "It is the end of the spirit of the democratic system in the country."
King Gyanendra, however, insisted in his address that the move was for the greater good of Nepal and the Nepalese people. "We have time and again expressed our commitment to democracy and we would like to assure our countrymen that democratic ideals will always continue to guide us," he said.
"As it will take some time to make new arrangements, we shall exercise the executive powers of the kingdom of Nepal, and until such arrangements are made we ourselves undertake the responsibility of governance in the country," he added.
"We are confident that the political parties will extend co-operation in constituting a new council of ministers by sending recommendations, within the next five days, of persons who have clean images and who will not be participating in the forthcoming general elections.
"We will never allow the commitment of and allegiance to constitutional monarchy and the multi-party democracy to be compromised. The government to be constituted will make adequate arrangements for peace and security as soon as possible and conduct the general election."
Prior to the surprise announcement, the monarch was busy meeting prominent people from various walks of life, including political leaders, former prime ministers, and newspaper editors. He also met ambassadors of various friendly countries.
King Gyanendra ascended to the throne of the Shah dynasty in June 2001 after his elder brother, King Birendra, was killed along with most of his family members in a massacre inside the Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu.
King Birendra ended the autocratic panchayati system of governance and restored multi-party democracy in Nepal in April 1990 following a prolonged popular movement.
But the post-democracy years have remained particularly turbulent in this impoverished South Asian nation, with 12 governments failing to live up to popular expectations in the years since then.
Matters got worse after 1996, when some leftist extremists --- members of the Communist Party of Nepal, Maoist, --- entered the jungles carrying arms and launched a violent rebellion aiming to overthrow the monarchy and topple multi-party democracy.
The Deuba government imposed a state of emergency in November 2001 to fight the rebellion.
Violence in the country has intensified since. So much so that there was a big question mark over the smooth conduct of the November 13 election that Deuba called after dissolving the lower house of parliament in late May.
Nearly 5,000 Nepalese have lost their lives in the six-plus years of insurgency. More than half of them were killed after the imposition of emergency last year, according to government figures.
Although Deuba said after the royal address that he would convene an all-party meeting to discuss the constitutionality of the royal move, no such preparation was underway until the noon of Saturday, October 5.
As for the people, many said they are happier, now that the king has assumed executive powers. "It looks like the country and the [sorry] state of affairs are going to change now," remarked Ram Bahadur Lama, a taxi driver, echoing the sentiments of many working class Nepalese people. "The king has come to our rescue."
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