Return of monarchy impossible in Nepal: Prachanda

Days after deposed King Gyanendra warned that monarchy could return in Nepal if people wanted, the ruling Maoist party chief Prachanda on Friday said that those who were talking about its revival were "day-dreaming".

Revival of monarchy, which was abolished in 2008, is just impossible at this moment, Prachanda told PTI. "It is like-day dreaming, which is not possible in real life," he said in response to a question. "The Nepalese people have marched ahead and there is no going back into history."

"The Nepalese people will not tolerate any activity of those who talk about revival of monarchy," he said.

If these forces want their end, they can talk such irrelevant things, Prachanda said.

The government should be tough on those who wanted to revive monarchy, he said, adding the "prime minister has already warned that facilities being provided to the ex-monarch will be sliced if he continues to talk about revival."

Earlier, reacting to Gyanendra's comments that monarchy could return if the people wished so, Premier Baburam Bhattarai warned the former king that all the facilities provided to him by the state would be stripped if he continued to talk about his desire to stage a comeback.

Bhattarai had asked the deposed king not to try to take advantage of current political impasse in the country. "The former king does not seem to have learnt any lesson," Bhattarai had said, adding that "he will have to lose whatever facilities he was enjoying."

Maoists had waged a 10-year insurgency against monarchy before joining the mainstream politics in 2006.