In their first reaction to the royal proclamation, the seven party alliance (SPA) has rejected the royal call to form a new government and has insisted on the reinstatement of the dissolved parliament.

A joint statement issued after the meeting of the SPA said the common agenda of the alliance including the reinstatement of the dissolved House, formation of an all-party government and dialogue with the CPN (Maoist) and holding elections to the constituent assembly was still the only option left to resolve the long-drawn political crisis in the country.

“There is no rationale behind accepting the offer to form a government at a time when the king has not addressed any of the demands being put forward by the SPA,” Nepali Congress spokesman Krishna Sitaula told reporters after the meeting. The alliance claimed that the royal proclamation had “undermined” the people’s sentiments.

Earlier, reports quoted Sitaula as saying that the alliance was likely to issue an ultimatum to King Gyanendra to reinstate the dissolved parliament. The joint statement, however, doesn’t mention any such ultimatum.

The seven party’s latest decision has come when tens of thousands of people have taken to streets across the country denouncing the royal proclamation. Hundreds of opposition activists chanted slogans against the royal proclamation in front of Mr. Koirala’s house as the meeting proceeded.

A delegation of the European Union envoys based in Kathmandu met the senior leaders of the SPA today immediately after their meeting had kicked off.

Details were not immediately available.

The EU has welcomed the royal proclamation and expressed hope that it would open the path to a peaceful process in Nepal and to a situation of renewed stability and dialogue.

The opposition parties have also announced that the over two-week-old nationwide general strike will continue until their demands are met.

The parties said they were sympathetic to the hardships being faced by the people due to the 16-day-old general strike. They, however, did not explain what led them to continue the strike even after millions of people had supported their movement across the country.

On Friday, King Gyanendra had invited the SPA to name the new prime minister. His Majesty also announced that he had returned the sovereign power back to the people. nepalnews.com by Apr 22 06