Kathmandu: King Gyanendra has thrown one more stone in the already troubled waters whose ripples could well be seen and experienced in the country’s politics that has obtained since His majesty made his last speech in Nepalganj on Sunday afternoon.

Good or bad, the country appears now to have been divided on two distinct lines: the first that goes summarily against the King and the second obviously fully supports the monarch’s views expressed “in the name of the people”.

Fall in the first category the leaders of the major political parties who have been staging a sort of never-ending agitation against the monarch’s October 4 moves appear to have become more restive upon listening the monarch’s Nepalganj speech and have more or less concluded that the King’s speech needed some sort of political rebuff in a befitting manner.

The other category appears supportive of the King’s expressions and considers that it would be the King now who would take care of their old-standing grievances properly.

Both the categories interpret King’s message differently that suits to their political interests.

But then the fact is that the King in his Nepalganj speech appears more determined to play an active role in the country’s politics that what he had hinted in his Time magazine interview. To a greater extent, Nepalganj lecture could be taken as an extension of his interview recently published by the American magazine.

The political parties have reasons to believe that their “monopoly days” days were over for the King in no uncertain terms has told the political parties that he would not remain now onwards a mere spectator to the Nepali events more so when the poor people continue to remain in distress and not being attended to by the political actors.

“Gone are the days when the King could be seen, but not heard, watching the people’s difficulties but not addressing them and being a silent spectator to their tear-stained faces are over”.

It is this particular view of the King that has disturbed the peace of mind of the major political parties who say that in saying so the King is hinting that he will not remain in the boundaries of a constitutional monarch.

One more point that has concerned the leaders of the political parties is that the King does not talk of his role as a constitutional monarch as per the 1990 constitution. He, however, does admit that he remains committed to multi-party democratic system.

Matured political analysts also see King’s speech in a different manner. According to them, the King has tried to enunciate a different sort of definition to democracy. His definition does tally with what Abraham Lincoln made long time back. The interesting part of it all is that King Gyanendra also centers the people while providing a completely new definition to democracy.

Yet another point that political analysts have taken note of in the King’s speech is that he has skillfully turned the tables on the political parties.

The fact is that according to the King, it is not him but the political parties who have been trying to discredit a system that is taken for granted the world-over as one of the best systems existing in the globe. In other words, the King implies that it is not the monarchy that could be held responsible for the acts of regression, but instead it is the political parties that have been trying to prove that Nepal was a failed state.

How the political parties will defend their case will have to be watched.

As usual, the King in his fresh speech has tried to portray the political parties as non-performers. In the same vein, the monarch appeals the leaders of the political parties to speak in favor of the people instead of quarreling for acquiring power. Who else better knows than the monarch as to which political leaders approached him in the meantime and demanded His Majesty’s favor for the post of the Prime Minister?

If the King in his speech has, on the one hand, scathingly criticised the political actors, on the other, he is for all praise for the nation’s security forces. This he could have done to boost the morale of the RNA and the men housed in the unified command which is understandable.

This is not all: the King has, for the time being, capped the possibilities of the formation of a government as wished by Madhav Nepal or for that matter by the agitating parties. It appears that the King is comfortable with the incumbent government and would wish the elections being held under the aegis of this establishment.

To the utter displeasure of the political parties, the King has hinted that the country would go to the polls soon. A proposition that the political leaders will have to think twice. However, as democratic parties, they perhaps can’t reject the idea of facing the elections if declared.

All in all, King’s fresh statement is currently under debate among the political leaders and intellectuals alike. However, what is for sure is that the King will not settle for less and appears to be in a mood to confront the political actors come what may.

What remains, however, yet unclear is that how the king will prove himself as a constitutional monarch given his “assertive” mood as expressed in Nepalganj?