Kathmandu, March 30: Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Rajendra Lingden has challenged the government to arrest former King Gyanendra Shah.

Talking to reporters after a meeting of the party's Central Performance Committee on Saturday, he said that monarchy is the need of the country and challenged to test the strength of the government.

Lingden expressed displeasure over the former king's name being associated with the Tinkune protest and insisted that the king should not be dragged into any controversy.

Chairman Lingden also accused the government of inciting violence in the Tinkune protests. Lingden also demanded the unconditional release of party leaders Rabindra Mishra and Dr. Dhawal Shumsher Rana and advocate Swagat Nepal within 24 hours. "If they are not released, we will launch protests across the country," he warned.

People's News Monitoring Service.