What was the main reason for …

The second movement started in April, 2006 when king Gyanendra dismissed the then Prime Minister and dissolved the popularly elected parliament. This movement was aimed at regaining popular control over the goverment from the king.

All the major political parties in the parliament formed a Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and called for a four-day strike in Kathmandu, the country’s capital. This protest soon turned into an indefinite strike in which the Maoist insurgents and various other organisations joined hands. People defined curfew to take to the streets. The security forces found themselves unable to take on more than a lakh people who gathered almost every day to demand restoration of democracy. The number of protesters reached between 3 to 5 lakhs on 21 April and they served an ultimatum to the king. The leaders of the movement rejected the half-hearted concessions made by the king. They stuck to their demand for restoration of parliament, power to all party government and a new constituent assembly.
On 24 April, 2006, the last day of the ultimatum, the king was forced to concede all the three demands. The SPA chose Girija Prasad Koirala as the new Prime Minister of the interim government. The restored parliament met and passed laws taking away most of the powers of the king. The SPA and the Maoists came to an understanding about how the new constituent assembly was going to be elected. This struggle came to be known as Nepal’s second movement for democracy. The struggle of the Nepali people is a source of inspiration for democrats all over the world.