Kathmandu, October 2:

The central committee meeting of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party continued today, with more key leaders stressing the King should realise the supremacy of people cannot be trampled.

Central leaders who aired their views on the political paper presented by general secretary Deepak Bohora were party spokesperson Roshan Karki, Mohan Raj Malla, Chatra Bahadur Gurung, Toran Gurung and Thakur Prasad Sharma. The RPP is fully in favour of a constitutional process as a large section of the central members feel that the King had indeed overstepped the constitution on February 1, This became evident as five central members aired their views that diametrically oppose the views of senior leaders like Padma Sundar Lawoti and Kamal Thapa, among others, who find no fault in the royal takeover and blame parliamentary parties for playing into the royal hands.

“Many of us are in favour of total democracy, which is reflected in the decision arrived at at the end of the central committee meeting after the royal takeover,” an RPP central member from the Far Western Region told this daily. He also stressed the need on part of the leadership to “focus” more on ways to make people torch-bearers — when it comes to deciding whether the nation needs changes in the constitution. Only people’s representatives should decide if any change is needed in the Constitution the leader said, flaying the remarks made by Dr Tulsi Giri on the current constitution. He also said RPP has long seen the need to have a new statute. He also said efforts were underway to convince hardliners in the party of the need not to toe the royal supporters’ line.