Thousands Rally in Nepal, calling for reinstatement of Monarchy and Hindu State

Apr 10, 2024

Kathmandu (Nepal), April 10 (ANI): Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Nepal to demand for reinstating constitutional monarchy and converting the nation to a Hindu kingdom. The protest called by the pro right-wing 'Rashtriya Prajatantra Party' (Nationalist People's Party), saw people marching and raising slogans for eradicating the current provincial government in the capital city of Kathmandu. Protesters scuffled with police and tore down barricades to enter a restricted-area after which the anti-riot force had to charge them down with water cannons. Former Maoist rebel chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who still goes by his nom de guerre of Prachanda ("Fierce"), is now Nepal's prime minister heading a coalition with the centrist Nepali Congress party. A specially elected assembly abolished the 239-year-old monarchy in 2008 under terms of an accord that ended a Maoist insurgency, which killed 17,000 people between 1996 and 2006, and established a federal republic. A major section of the road that works as a lifeline of Kathmandu's traffic came to a standstill as they took the road and marched towards Singha Durbar, the administrative capital of the Himalayan nation. Local authorities have been extending the prohibitory order for the area, resulting in frequent clashes during demonstrations that are held occasionally in the capital. Rastriya Prajatantra Party chairman, Rajendra Lingden, also a former Deputy Prime Minister, led the protestors into the restricted zone as they reached near Bhadrakali Temple, near the Army Headquarters, defying the prohibitory order.