Monday, May 22 2006 10:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kathmandu: Nepal's Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala met King Gyanendra at the Royal Palace here yesterday (May 21,2006) night, the first time after a parliamentary proclamation drastically curtailed the monarch's powers.

The King and the Prime Minister discussed the present political scenario of the country for nearly an hour, officials said. No details were immediately available.

The House of Representatives on Thursday stripped the King of most of his powers, stripping him of the control of the Army, reducing him to just a figurehead, while declaring the world's only Hindu Kingdom a secular state.

The proclamation also asked the King to pay taxes and renamed 'His Majesty's Government' as 'Nepal Government' and the 'Royal Nepalese Army' as 'Nepali Army'.

The seven-party alliance of Nepal had spearheaded an anti-monarchy agitation last month, forcing King Gyanendra to hand over power. The King had been ruling directly for 14 months after sacking the Sher Bahadur Deuba Government in February 2005.