Kathmandu: Two top Opposition leaders in Nepal have turned down an offer for separate talks with King Gyanendra today (May 10, 2004) to resolve the political crisis in the wake of growing demand for restoration of democracy, saying they would prefer a collective audience.

Nepali Congress (NC) president Girija Prasad Koirala and Nepal Communist Party-UML (Unified Marxist Leninist) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal refused the King's offer for separate talks, saying they would rather seek a collective audience, NC spokesman Arjun Narsingh said.

The leaders of the five agitating parties held a joint meeting this morning after Koirala and Nepal got separate invitations from the Royal Palace and the meeting decided not to opt for individual audience, Narsingh said.

Koirala was invited at the Palace at 17: 00 hrs (IST) today and Nepal an hour later, Narsingh said.

The five parties during a joint meeting yesterday had decided to seek collective audience with the King and not to meet him individually, saying it would give the Palace a "chance to play one against the other".

During yesterday's meeting, the five-party alliance had urged the King to return the sovereign power and the State authority to the people, Narsingh said. "The meeting also urged that the stalled constitutional process should be re-activated," he said.

The parties continued their pro-democracy stir despite the resignation by Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa on Friday. They have called two-day general strike tomorrow (May 11, 2004) and Wednesday (May 12, 2004) to press for their demands.