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Nepal : King Gyanendra’s move arouses suspicion |
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Nepal’s King Gyanendra raised the storm on December 9 when he inaugurated a convention in the capital asking for more powers for the monarchy, leading to all Communist ministers boycotting the programme. The meeting, observers feels, may create more suspicion about the King’s motives as they come close on the heels of a function where some pro-royalists urged the monarch to become more active in the presence of his niece, Manuja Shahi.
Though Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and ministers from his own Nepali Congress (Democratic) party and two more parties in the coalition kept the King company, 11 ministers from the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist, a major coalition partner and vocal critic of the government as well as the King, stayed away, calling the convention unconstitutional.
The Raj Parishad – the council of royal advisors – was originally a titular body with little political activity, but, ever since the Maoist insurgents began their guerilla war in 1996 with the aim of replacing Nepal’s constitutional monarchy with a Communist republic, and since King Gyanendra ascended the throne, the council has run into a lot of controversy. It has organised meetings to discuss the political situation and extol the virtues of the monarchy as the symbol of unity. After five meetings of its zonal committees, the council on December 9 began a two-day convention in Kathmandu, triggering protests by political parties and student unions.The inauguration by the King led students to demonstrate all over the country. The protesters called the convention unconstitutional.
The King has been accused of usurping executive authority since October 2002, when he sacked the government of Sher Bahadur Deuba and since then appointed three of his nominees as PM, rejecting the consensus candidate named by a coalition of five parties.
King coming to India
New Delhi’s growing concern over Maoist insurgency in Nepal will figure prominently during discussions when King Gyanendra comes to India on Dec. 23 on an 11-day visit.
India has been in favour of strengthening constitutional monarchy in Nepal. While joining hands with Kathmandu in their fight against terrorism, India believes that dialogue can be initiated with the Maoists provided political parties in Nepal are able to sink their differences.
The Foreign Secretary of India, Shyam Saran, who was India’s Ambassador to Nepal before taking over, has pointed out that by opening separate channels with the Maoists to outsmart their competitors, political parties in Nepal have allowed the insurgents to gain an upper hand. Inaugurating the Track II conference in New Delhi on Dec. 6, which had an agenda ranging from the Maoist insurgency to the role of India and the rest of the world, Saran said the Maoist violence in Nepal needed to be tackled both as a security challenge and as a socio-economic problem for which the political parties and monarchy must work together. Presenting a roadmap for tackling the Maoist problem, Saran said the two countries must work together with India being seen as a partner and an opportunity.
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