The Nepali Congress (Democratic) headed by Sher Bahadur Deuba staged a demonstration in the capital Friday afternoon to protest against the October 4 Royal proclamation that dismissed his government on grounds of incompetence.

Addressing several thousand activists, Deuba called for the reinstatement of his government sacked by King Gyanendra on October 4  as a solution to the current political crisis.

“We will continue protests until the royal mistake is rectified,” he told the mass meeting at Basantapur Square. This is the first public protest by Deuba’s Nepali Congress (Democratic) which he heads.

He rejected charges by the King that he was inept when he was sacked on October 4. “Only the parliament and the people can level such charges,’ he argued.

He defended himself and said he tried to negotiate a peace with the Maoists who attacked army installations on November 23 last year after breaking off peace talks. He also said he mobilized international support for the fight against the rebels. “How am I inept,” Deuba asked.

Former lawmakers, lawyers and others in several hundreds marched through the capital’s streets asking people to protest the October 4 action of the King.

Party workers gathered at Ratna Park and went around the major thoroughfares of the city protesting against the Royal Proclamation before converging into a mass meeting at Basantapur.

Senior leaders of the party also addressed the mass meeting. Some senior leaders of the party-Chiranjibi Wagle, Khum Bahadur Khadka and Jaya Prakash  Prasad Gupta are still behind the bars as investigations into the corruption charges against them is still being carried out.

The Nepali Congress (Democratic) along with the Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) have termed the Royal Proclamation that deposed the Deuba government of being unconstitutional.