Kathmandu: At a time when most of the agitating political parties have been demanding an outright resignation of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, the latter is taking those demands very lightly.

Equally interesting is the fact that except Girija Prasad Koirala, the rest of the coalition partners in the agitation against regression have been demanding Thapa’s resignation to facilitate their meetings with the King.

This is interesting indeed.

Rumours are being circulated that if Thapa is pushed to the wall by the monarch for his resignation, Thapa might retaliate by demanding from the King the restoration of the now dissolved parliament through a cabinet decision.

If he does so will definitely embarrass the King who neither can oblige Thapa on technical grounds nor can summarily ignore the cabinet decision. Yet another constitutional crisis will have gripped the nation in that case.

In such an event, an annoyed Thapa can push his cabinet decision to the perusal of the King by forwarding the claim that since he enjoyed full executive powers and hence the monarch as per the constitution was obliged to act as per the cabinet’s decisions.

The ground reality is that the apex court has upheld the dissolution of the House some eighteen months ago and that the full five-year term of the now dissolved house expired only recently.

In such circumstances, the likelihood of which is fifty-fifty, how the King will proceed to tackle the emerging scenario still in its embryonic and imaginary stage will have to be watched.

Strong rumours have it that this conspiracy is the brain-child of president Koirala who enjoys comfortable relations with the latter. Perhaps it is this conspiracy that brings Thapa and Koirala even more closer.

Others say that Thapa has already communicated to the King that if his resignation brings in a conducive atmosphere in the country, he was ready to resign.

But will he resign so easily as he promises? Not so many people digest Thapa’s avowals.

Question thus arises as to whether Thapa as nation’s prime minister can appeal the King for the restoration of a parliament whose real tenure too has expired?