Kathmandu, June 05: Palace loyalist Surya Bahadur Thapa was today sworn in as Nepal's new prime minister for the fifth time amid widespread public demonstrations rejecting the royal choice and calling for installation of a democratic government. Thapa, 75, was sworn in by King Gyanendra in a simple ceremony at the Narayanhiti royal palace here, a day after appointing him in place of Lokendra Bahadur Chand, who resigned last week following a series of protests.
Sources however said that the formation of the new cabinet would take some time. The new prime minister has been tasked to recommend a council of ministers representing all hues of the political spectrum in the kingdom, they said.
Thapa has been meeting political leaders and is expected to include some who worked under him during his four previous stints as the premier, the sources said.
Seeking to drop the palace tag, Thapa said after the swearing in that his Rashtriya Prajatantra Party had also assailed the sacking of the Sher Bahadur Deuba government last year.
"Since I belong to the sixth political party protesting against the king and also for the people's democratic rights, I am confident of receiving full co-operation from the five agitating parties," he said.
"This government has no meaning at all. It does not have the support of people or the political parties," said Madhav Kumar Nepal of the United Marxist Leninist Communist Party of Nepal, the nation's second-largest political party.
Demonstrators in the capital forced government vehicles off the streets and demanded that the king reinstate the parliament. At least one vehicle was damaged, but there were no reports of injuries or arrests. Bureau Report