A week after Nepal's royal coup on February 1, King Gyanendra's spokesman and his new foreign minister, Ramesh Nath Pandey, spoke to Outlook on issues other than India's reaction:
What prompted the king to take over the government?
But why did you suspend civil liberties and impose Emergency?
Isn't it true that the monarch has subverted the very idea of constitutional monarchy?
Do you think the Maoists will climb down from their demand to convene a constituent assembly and establish a republican form of government in which the king has no role to play?
With political parties no longer playing a role, won't the people be forced to choose between the king and the Maoists, leading to a polarisation of the polity?
How do you propose to resolve the problem of Maoist insurgency?