If king refuses to go there are ways to remove him: Badal

Kathmandu, April 20:

Senior Maoist leader Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ said today that his party’s official policy was to abolish all forms of monarchy and to establish a federal, democratic republican order.

“Our official policy is to abolish all feudal elements represented by the monarchy,” Thapa, who was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Chitwan-3, said during a programme at the Reporters’ Club. He said his party wanted to implement the agenda of republic passed by the interim parliament without further confrontation or bloodshed.

“If the king does not abide by the people’s mandate and refuses to lead a normal life as a respected citizen, there are other ways of removing him,” he said, adding: “We want to end this long-drawn-out contradiction peacefully.”

He also made it clear that they had met the royalists before the election so that the king could be persuaded for his graceful exit and peaceful political transformation. He said they would like to meet the king openly and ask him to vacate the Royal Palace before the

first meeting of the constituent assembly took a decision on it.

Badal said his party would lead the new government as the single largest party, and it would be a joint government with the representation of all the leftist, democratic and nationalist forces. The main task is to draft a new constitution and run the government till the next election is held under the new constitution, he said.

Addressing the function, Nepali Congress leader Narahari Acharya, who was elected to the CA from Kathmandu-5, said his party lost election to the Maoists not because of its ideological flaws, but because of the weakness of the party leadership.

He called for holding the party’s 12th national convention to reorient the party’s policies and organisational structure and called for change in the party’s leadership.

Acharya said the NC could not focus its attention on organisation build-up after the Jana Andolan II, as it had to coordinate with all the parties and to push the peace process ahead.

He said his party would support the Maoist-led new government and will play an active role to draft a democratic constitution. He, however, did not say whether or not the Nepali Congress will join the government.