In a developing country like ours, one can't expect a people's movement overnight.

One thing needs to be made clear about the movement-it can't be wishy-washy. What is the objective? We can't be vague about that. The objective of the 1990 people's movement was to uproot the partyless system; what is our movement this time? Is it aimed at activating the constitution or is it for the reinstatement of parliament?

We also need to be clear about who or what is creating hurdles to activating the constitution or reinstating parliament. What is stopping talks with the Maoists? What is stopping us from going for the constituent assembly? What is obstructing the flow of the country's politics? The answer to all of the above is: the king's active regime and his political aspirations. In short, this movement needs to be clear about the monarchy's role.

Calling for a republican system is no crime. There are many countries in the world that have a democratic system but no monarchy. A king is not a mandatory condition for democracy. We need to understand that the earlier compromise we made on the monarchy was a temporary understanding. If the king is not willing to work within that understanding, the deal is off.

The political parties have been saying that the king's future lies in his own hands. Actually the monarchy's future is not in the king's hands but in the hands of the people. So the democracy movement needs to focus on that one target. For this, we need a leadership we can trust. Can the NC or UML lead it?