His Majesty King Gyanendra has granted audience to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and chief of security agencies Monday separately.

There was no official words regarding the royal audience and details of the meeting were not available. But, sources said, security agencies were kept on high alert.

Earlier in the day, the council of ministers decided that premier Deuba would lead the Nepali delegation to the 13th SAARC summit in Dhaka due to be held next week.

The royal audience has come amid Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s insistence to go for fresh parliamentary elections saying that the rebels did not heed his call to return to the table of negotiations.

Government’s spokesman, Dr Mohammed Mohsin, said last week that the government should go for polls (within a week) as per the royal mandate or vacate the seat. A day later, premier Deuba, however, said the government would set dates for elections only after consulting the coalition partners and opposition leaders.

Opposition leaders say amid escalating violence, there doesn’t exist a conducive environment to go for polls. Maoist rebels, too, have vowed to disrupt the polls saying that it would not resolve people’s problems.

Parliamentary polls are due in Nepal for over two years now. nepalnews.com by Jan 31 05