Kathmandu: Maoist chief Prachanda, who is poised to head the next Nepal government, on Friday said he will meet embattled King Gyanendra to persuade him to step down and leave the royal palace before the monarchy is abolished in the Himalayan nation.
Prachanda said he would "take the initiative" in meeting the King.
"I will take the initiative to talk to the king in person," Prachanda, who led his party to a surprise victory in the landmark Nepal polls, said in an interview broadcast on state-run television.
"He should understand and respect the people's verdict and what the people want and leave the palace voluntarily.
"In history, monarchs have been beheaded and also had to flee. Let that not be repeated in Nepal," Prachanda said.
The charismatic Maoist leader, whose party is poised to form a coalition government in Nepal, said the King has a "historic opportunity" to show respect to verdict of the people in the polls by leaving the royal palace.
"The king has the historic opportunity to show his love for the country and his respect of the verdict of the people by leaving the palace himself," Prachanda said.
"Nepalese people will forgive him no matter what he has done in the past," the charismatic Maoist leader said in the 30-minute interview.
Though the complete result of the April 10 polls is yet to come, the CPN-Maoist so far look set to dominate a 601-seat assembly that will rewrite Nepal's constitution, and expected to abolish the 240-year-old monarchy.
CPN-Maoist second-in-command Baburam Bhattarai, who is tipped to be the country's next prime minister, had given an ultimatum of four weeks yesterday to the embattled king to step down and leave the Narayanhiti Royal Palace.
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