Kathmandu, March 11 -- A day after thousands of people took to the street to welcome former king Gyanendra Shah in Kathmandu, political parties stepped up discussions on the activities of the pro-monarchy forces and their demand to restore the country's status as a Hindu Kingdom.

The main opposition CPN (Maoist Centre) held a meeting of the party's office bearers on Monday to discuss recent developments. The party abruptly halted the month-long 'awakening campaign' in Tarai-Madhesh districts a day before the pr0-monarchy demonstration.

Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other top leaders of the party, who were leading the campaign, returned to Kathmandu on Saturday citing "the need for the party to shift priority to the centre f...