Reinstatement of dethroned monarchy impossible say MPs in HOR

Kathmandu, March 9: The leaders of the major political parties in the House of Representatives (HoR) have urged everyone not to be swayed by activities to reinstate the monarchy since restoration of the dethroned monarchy was impossible.

They said monarchy is now a historical issue in Nepal. Warning the pro-monarchists not to dream of the reinstatement of monarchy, the leaders have stated that monarchy is just a part of history and cannot be compared with regime change.

Reinstating monarchy objectionable: Chief Whip Ghimire, the Chief Whip of Nepali Congress, Shyam Kumar Ghimire said that welcome and greetings to the former king, Gyanendra Shah, from his well-wishers and supporters, should be taken as a normal issue.

But, the way his supporters are taking to the streets for reinstating monarchy is objectionable and indigestible, Ghimire said. “The dream to reinstate monarchy would harm the former king himself. My suggestion for him is to stay in his status as the former head of the state,” Ghimire added.

Reinstatement impossible: UML Chief Whip Bartaula Likewise, Chief Whip of CPN (UML) in HoR, Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, said the alternative to democracy is democracy and republic. In a democracy, people have the choice to elect their representatives and punish them every five years if the parties and their representatives make mistakes, according to Bartaula.

He viewed that the activities taking place in the name of the former king had ignited anarchy fuelling political instability. “This does not take the nation in the right direction. Reinstatement of monarchy in Nepal is an impossible thing,” leader Bartaula observed.

Stating that monarchy was dethroned from the people’s movement, Bartaula asserted that attempts to rule the nation and system through direct order were not accepted. The best and highest level of governance is a democratic republic and the issues on the governance could be resolved from within the system, Bartaula viewed.

Public despair being cashed in: Vice Chair Yadav Chairman of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal, Raj Kishor Yadav, has said it seems some section is cashing in people’s disenchantment towards government and political parties.

Such misdeeds will fizzle out once political parties work honestly for public service delivery and good governance. Nepali society’s awareness, present needs and global situation do not allow going back from the present state, he explained.

The Vice-Chair further said the former king is an honored personality, so he should not be swayed by anyone or section. If he goes whimsical, it would be damaging and against people and country, Yadav warned. He also suggested the government and political parties that they worked as per public aspiration to address their disenchantment.

Alternative to democracy is improved democracy: Acting Spokesperson Jha Similarly, the Acting Spokesperson of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, Manish Jha, observed that the activities relating to the former king reflect public dissatisfaction towards activities of government and political parties. Major political parties need to respond to this situation.

The discriminatory and personally targeted activities of the government were also playing their parts to public disappointment, he argued. Jha, however, said the alternative to democracy is better democracy. Monarchy can not be an alternative to a republic at all. The former king has not admitted the mistakes he made when he took power. The former king should not go beyond the constitution and law, he suggested.

The political leaders talked to RSS representatives on current politics and contemporary issues. —RSS