KATHMANDU, Oct 6: Nepal's King Birendra tonight named Surya Bahadur Thapa, president of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), as the new Prime Minister, state television said.Thapa, 69, replaces Lokendra Bahadur Chand, whose government fell after he lost a vote of confidence on Saturday. Earlier, Thapa had staked his claim to form a government, submitting a letter to the royal palace which was signed by 107 MPs, including 87 from Nepali Congress (NC) and three from Nepal Sadbhavna Party (NSP) besides 17 RPP members.A former royalist who has been premier earlier also, Thapa required support of at least 103 MPs in the 205-strong Pratinidhi Sabha, Nepal's house of representatives.Meanwhile, Chand has written to the king and the speaker of the Parliament accusing Thapa and his followers of violating anti-defection law, Xinhua said. Thapa must win a vote of confidence before November 5.Saturday's fall of the Chand government was Thapa's sweet revenge for the 1983 fall of his own government through a Chand-sponsored no-confidence motion.His arch-rival in the RPP, Chand lost when Thapa led 14 of RPP's 19 MPs TO join forces with the centrist NC. Before the no-confidence vote, Thapa and 14 other RPP MPs held a parliamentary meeting in the absence of Chand, party's parliamentary leader, and decided to vote for the censure motion which was carried by a 107-94 vote.
