It is becoming clear that royalists were involved in inciting violence in the tarai, intending to push back the constituent assembly elections. Meanwhile, Hindu organisations and the royalists are planning a big religious ceremony around Shivaratri.
At a meeting in Gorakhpur, former chairman of the World Hindu Federation, Bharat Kesari Simha, was busy collecting funds to support jogis coming to Nepal for Shivaratri and a seminar in Kathmandu to discuss whether Nepal should have been made secular. Even some ministers are publicly raising funds for the event. Simha reportedly asked for Rs 1 million from minister Pradeep Gyawali.
A public appeal from the Hindu organisation states that, "by making Nepal a secular state, the newly constituted parliament has deliberately tried to incite communal hatred amongst Nepalis and has hurt the sentiments of Hindus all over the world." There are fears that Simha's group might start communal violence in Kathmandu during Shivaratri.