A week after Nepal's King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev sacked Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Cabinet, he announced a nine-member Cabinet, with Lokendra Bahadur Chand as the new prime minister.

Many in Nepal say the king's move to sack Deuba was reminiscent of a similar move by his father, King Mahendra, who toppled the democratic government led by Bishweshwor Prasad Koirala back in 1960 in what some politicians say was a royal coup.

This time around, palace officials insist that the king's move is not a coup, while the king himself has vowed to uphold multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy. But politicians in Nepal, including Deuba, say the move is unconstitutional. Surendra Phuyal spoke to Deuba in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. Excerpts:

The king has announced that you were sacked under Article 127 of the constitution, which empowers the monarch to 'remove difficulties'. He has also called you incompetent.

I have time and again repeated [after October 4] that the king's move is unconstitutional. As far as I know, a prime minister cannot be removed like this under our constitution. And as far as the question of me being incompetent is concerned, I am not. I wanted elections. It is the political parties that suggested to us to postpone the polls until next year [November 19, 2003].

But there are people who argue that there was indeed a constitutional difficulty.

No, that is a false argument. The king's move is unconstitutional. A democratic government cannot be removed like this.

The king also received you in audience later. Didn't you complain about his decision? What did the monarch say?

I conveyed my message to His Majesty during the audience that the move was unconstitutional. The monarch sought my advice to form a new government. Sorry, I cannot tell you every detail about my conversation with the king. There are certain things that have to be kept secret.

Will you or anybody from your party join the new government?

No, I will not. I have already said that. And our party's central committee too has decided against joining the new government [that the decision is unconstitutional and the government has to be reinstated].

So what is your party up to?

We want to go around the country after the festivals --- Dasera and Diwali --- are over and reorganise. We want to consolidate our party, which believes in multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy.

Your government decided to put off the polls on the advice of the opposition parties. And you were sacked because of that. Now are the opposition parties supporting you? And why did your party boycott the all-party meeting?

The parties have not supported me as yet. But I believe they will support us. Our party boycotted the all-party meeting because we did not want to join the new electoral government. If one is not joining the government, there is no point in participating in such meetings.

And what about the international community? Has it been supportive and sympathetic?

Very much so! They have been very supportive through thick and thin. Even after October 4, they have been very sympathetic towards Nepal as well as my party and me.

How do you think Nepal's problems will be resolved?

First of all, the rebel Maoists have to be brought to the political mainstream. Peace has to prevail through collective efforts. The international community has to support us financially and otherwise. And only then can we resolve our burning challenges like alleviating poverty, reducing the unemployment [rate], controlling corruption, and consolidating democracy.

But are the Maoists serious about talks?

They were not serious about talks. They betrayed us last year. And they can betray us again. They have to be serious. Otherwise how can Nepal make progress?

Image: Dominic Xavier

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