Monday, April 18 2005 20:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kathmandu: Rejecting King Gyanendra's announcement to hold municipal election in Nepal, leaders of major political parties today (Apr 18, 2005) termed it as a conspiracy to legitimise his February 1 power grab.

The leaders, who had gathered to observe the 75th birth anniversary of Nepal Sadbhavana Party founder-president and Terai leader Gajendra Narayan Singh, urged the political parties to form a united front against the royal takeover and vowed to fight for restoration of full-fledged democracy.

Veteran communist leader and general secretary of Nepal Communist Party-United Bishnu Bahadur Manandhar said the King's announcement to hold municipal election as a conspiracy to legitimise the February 1 royal takeover.

There is a need to set up common agenda by all the political parties to fight against the palace's attempt to regain power, which it lost through the 1990 People's Movement that restored multiparty democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom, Manandhar said.

Former Minister Nilambar Acharya said the announcement of the municipal elections by the King without consulting with political parties is irrelevant. "The people's freedom to speak and right to assemble have been snatched and leaders of all major political parties are in jail," he said.

Former Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepali Congress-Democratic leader Minendra Rijal and Nepali Congress leader Dilbahadur Gharti stressed on the need to forge unity among major political parties in order to restore peace and democracy in the country.