Front Page PM sending Karan to King, message clear: restore democracy Pranab Dhal Samanta / Yubaraj Ghimire Posted online: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 0000 hrs Nepal Let political parties take charge and sort out the Maoist problem, say India, US envoys NEW DELHI, KATHMANDU, APRIL 18: With tensions rising in Nepal and economic indicators worsening, India today decided to send senior Congress leader Karan Singh on Wednesday as a special envoy, carrying a message from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for King Gyanendra.
The message from the PM, while expressing concern, is expected to emphasise the need for the King to immediately respond given the public outrage and protests being backed by the seven-parties political alliance. This could also open up opportunities for negotiations with the Maoists, who are a major security challenge for the monarch.
The Prime Minister, in his message, will make it clear that while India does not have any intention of intervening in the domestic issues of its neighbouring countries, it was extremely concerned by the developments in Nepal.
Karan Singh, related to the monarch through his wife, told The Indian Express that he did know Gyanendra tremendously well but had met him a couple of years ago. I knew his father well... but I will give it a shot because the situation is getting dangerous and deteriorating fast.
While Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will be joining him from Bhutan tomorrow, Singh said he will hold a one-on-one meeting with the King and personally hand him over a message from the PM. Some steps need to be taken... the institution of democracy needs to be restored.
Singh also gave examples of other monarchs across the world, including the Bhutan King who has voluntarily taken steps towards democracy.
That Gyanendra does not have much time to decide was made clear by US Ambassador James Moriarty in Kathmandu. In an interview, Moriarty did some plainspeak, saying nobody wanted a situation where the King would have to cling to the wheel of a helicopter and flee.
Moriarty too had advised the King that power should be irreversibly handed over to the political parties who would be responsible for finding a solution to the Maoist problem. All Headlines All Front Page News Google Ads
India has decided to send Karan Singh as the Prime Minister's special Envoy to Nepal. Singh is scheduled to hold talks with King Gyanendra as well as the leaders of the Nepalese pro-democracy movement, in an effort to end the deepening political crisis in that country. 

Nepal has witnessed growing protests against King Gyanendra's decision last year to dismiss the government and assume direct rule. Since then, a seven-party opposition alliance has led nationwide protest demanding that the King immediately hand over power to an all-party government, dismissing King Gyanendra's offer to hold election by April 2007. 

Nepal's long and porous border with India poses security concerns for the two countries

The King is also directing a difficult campaign against a Maoist guerilla movement in the countryside. 

Singh is a senior diplomat and is also related to King Gyanendra by marriage. India's foreign secretary Shyam Saran is also scheduled to accompany the special envoy. India has long expressed concern over the situation in Nepal, calling for a return to representative government. 

Speaking to a television news channel, Singh said "It is not our intention to interfere in the internal affairs of another country but the last thing that we would want is for Nepal to dissolve into chaos because India's vital security interests are involved. Our human interests are involved. There's an open border between Nepal and India and our commitment to parliamentary democracy is there."