Leaders of major opposition parties have said that the King must be ready to discuss all political issues raised by the seven agitating parties and the Maoists if he wanted to resolve the problem through dialogue.

Speaking at an interaction in the capital on Monday, they dubbed the King’s message on the occasion of the 56th Democracy Day as “ambiguous”.

Central committee member of the CPN-UML, Pradip Gyawali, said the King must be ready to restore the pre-October 4, 2002 situation and hold election to a constituent assembly if he is indeed keen on a dialogue.

“The King’s message has nothing new to offer to the political parties who have been fighting for the restoration of democracy,” Gyawali added.

He said the parties would not be ready to talk with the King unless he accepted the 12-point agenda signed by the parties and the Maoists in a bid to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Leader of the Nepali Congress (Democratic), Dr Narayan Khadka, said, “The King’s message hints that he has accepted the fact that he has been politically defeated. The manner in which he has called “interested” parties for talks shows he is not whole-heartedly interested in resolving the crisis through a dialogue.”

Spokesperson of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Parsu Ram Khapung, urged the King to create an environment positive for dialogue with the seven-party alliance and his party.

Former minister Kuber Sharma said the King’s message was intended to reactivate the 1990 constitution. The King has also called on the Maoists to give up violence and join the competitive multi-party democracy, he said.

However speaking at another programme, member of Raj Parisad Standing Committee, Satchit Shumsher JB Rana, stated that only talks between the King and political parties would resolve the current crisis and appealed to the parties to respond to the King’s appeal for dialogue.

“The parties should talk to the King and form an interim government for holding the parliamentary elections,” said Rana.

Speaking at the same programme, Padma Sundar Lawati of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party led by Kamal Thapa and Rameshwar Rai Yadav of Nepal Sadbhavana Party also said that only talks between the King and parties would resolve the current crisis.