KATHMANDU: A stone’s throw from King Gyanendra’s imposing palace in Nepal’s capital, demonstrators are staging a sit-in demanding that he stop meddling in the nation’s politics.

Gyanendra, who took the throne after a palace massacre that wiped out most of the royal family in June 2001, has come under unprecedented political attack in the Himalayan nation racked by a deadly Maoist revolt.

Nepalis say they cannot recall such demonstrations against a monarch, who has the status of a god in this Hindu country, since street protests in 1990 obliged then King Birendra to concede multi-party democracy.

Gyanendra, Birendra’s brother, triggered the crisis last October when he fired an elected prime minister, accusing him of incompetence in fighting the revolt by Maoists seeking a communist republic.

“He has overstepped his role as constitutional monarch,” said Arjun Narsingh, spokesman of the Nepali Congress, the largest party.

After dismissing Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Gyanendra picked a loyalist replacement. Then, as political wrath mounted over the king’s actions, he named another pro-royalist, Surya Bahadur Thapa, as the new prime minister, ignoring opposition party calls to let them choose the country’s leader.

Thapa is the nation’s 13th prime minister in as many years.

With all sides saying it would be difficult to hold new elections because of the Maoist revolt — analysts say the rebels control about two-thirds of the country — and major parties refusing to join the government, the stalemate looks set to drag on.

“The mistrust between the palace and politicians is so deep, even at a time of looming crisis with the Maoists, they can’t work together,” said Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times.

“Quite simply, the level of criticism against the king is unprecedented in Nepal’s history. They’re saying all kinds of things about him,” Dixit said.

RETURN TO PAST?: But critics accuse him of being an autocrat seeking to take Nepal back to the pre-1990 days of absolute monarchy.