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Nepal King gets X-mas dinner date
Published on Sun, Dec 24, 2006 at 12:45, Updated on Sun, Dec 24, 2006 at 12:51 in 
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Kathmandu: Shunned by the international community and dogged by demands from Maoist guerrillas to abolish the crown, Nepal's King Gyanendra finally had someone speak out in his support - and invite him to X-mas dinner.
On Christmas Eve, a local daily published letters from readers in answer to its "Question of the week: Who would you like to invite to have dinner with you this Christmas?"
One stalwart royalist, Sarose Shah, was the only reader plumping for the king.
"I will invite King Gyanendra because I like the way he ruled the country," Shah's letter said.
The other celebrity guests readers said they would like to have dinner with on Monday included the Kng's bete noire, Maoist chief Prachanda, Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Nepali comedian Haribansha Acharya, known for his satires.
"I'd like to invite Prachanda as I'd like to know his food taste and his plans for Nepal," reader Bindu Bhusal wrote in the Himalayan Times on Sunday.
The reader's support for the king comes a week after the Maoists and the seven-party government finalised a new constitution. Once implemented, it will see the king replaced as head of state by the Prime Minister.
A historic election will be held next year when voters will choose between the 238-year-old institution of monarchy and a republic.
The anti-King sentiment reached a peak in April when street protests forced the monarch to step down as head of government. Since then, the new government has stripped him of his powers, legal and tax immunity.
Though keeping a low profile, the royal family still faces public ire.
Last week, students close to the second-largest party in the government, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist, took out a torchlight rally in Hetauda town in Makwanpur district to protest against an imminent visit by the royal couple.
Accompanied by Queen Komal, King Gyanendra is scheduled to sojourn in a palace in the central Nepal town for some time to escape the chilly winter of Kathmandu.
Several student unions were reported to have threatened to start a series of protests if the royal visit was not cancelled.
The other celebrity guests readers would like for Christmas dinner include Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, former South African president Nelson Mandela and upcoming Indian singer Abhijit Sawant, who won a popular singing contest on television.
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