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Six persons injured in anti-King protest in Nepal

Top leaders of the alliance, including Girija Prasad Koirala, stopped by police

KATHMANDU: Defying Government's ban, seven political parties in Nepal on Tuesday staged a demonstration here against King Gyanendra's direct rule after being prevented from holding a scheduled meeting even as at least six students were injured when police used batons to break another protest against the royal takeover.

Top leaders of the seven-party alliance, including Nepali Congress (NC) president Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal Communist Party-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar and NC (Democratic) acting president Gopalman Shrestha, were stopped by police as they reached the Royal Nepal Academy hall for a pre-scheduled meeting of former MPs, which they called ``Third Parliament,'' to discuss the royal government's budget and other programmes. After they were stopped by the security personnel surrounding the RNA hall, the top leaders and about 2,500 party cadres raised anti-King slogans and demonstrated on the street defying the Government's ban, said Nepali Congress sources.

Mr. Koirala condemned the royal government for preventing the meeting from taking place at the RNA hall which, party sources said, was already booked by paying Rs. 35,000 as charges.

``It was a deplorable act of the Government, as they have stopped us from exercising our democratic right to hold meetings,'' said Mr. Shrestha. The former MPs were supposed to discuss the budget, he told PTI.

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