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King might be forcefully evicted if he does not leave palace voluntarily: Badal
CPN-Maoist leader Ram Bahadur Thapa 'Badal' has advised the king to voluntarily leave the palace and become an honourable citizen, warning that if he doesn't do so then the government would even resort to using force to oust him from there.
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"It would be good if he peacefully, voluntarily leaves the palace after the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly decides to abolish monarchy. If he does not do so, the government will treat him just like any common criminal and use the army or other force to oust him from there," Badal said speaking at an interaction organised at the Reporters Club Nepal Sunday. He said that as far as possible the party would try to resolve the issue through peaceful means.
Badal, who was the party's chief military strategist during the time the party's decade long war with the state, made it clear that the Maoists were not in favour of retaining "cultural king" or any other form of monarchy, affirming that their "struggle against feudalism" was also aimed at destroying all the remnants of the institution of monarchy.
"If in case any leader of our party had given an impression that the party wants to keep some of monarchy then the party doesn't subscribe to that view and it is certainly not the official viewpoint of the party," he said, clearly referring to the statement his party's No. 2 leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai that while removing monarchy the party could provide the outgoing King with "economic, social and cultural rights and benefits."
Saying that the party's top leadership is soon going to hold an one-to-one with the King, Badal, however, clarified that they were doing so not to express their allegiance to the king like other parties had done in the past, but only [to find ways] for his "graceful exit" from the palace. Badal also admitted that they had met with a few royalists recently, but it was done so to oust the king.
Interestingly enough, when a reporter asked whether his party would consider granting the party's membership to the king if he is to seek it, Badal said that if he accepts democratic values and express commitment to fight against the foreign interventionist forces then he would certainly be given the party's membership.
Regarding the army integration, Badal said that as the issue is already mentioned in the peace accord it would be finalised by the Constituent Assembly.
"Our mandate is to establish peace in the country and for that integration of Nepal Army and People's Liberation Army is crucial. So we will integrate both the armies to make a new national army," he said. Furthermore, he said the party believes in making military training mandatory to all citizens, adding that this would also help in downsizing the army.
Badal also said that the decision of some parties to resign from the government violates the mandate given through the polls.
Similarly, speaking at the same programme Nepali Congress leader Narahari Acharya, who was among the first in his party to champion the republican cause, blamed poor leadership and organisational skills behind the party's humiliating performance at the polls.
"But this should not be inferred as the defeat of Nepali Congress or its democratic ideals - multiparty democracy," Acharya said, adding that he has always been fighting for a change in the leadership of the party and will continue to do so in the coming days also.
He said that the new government to be formed under the Maoist leadership would have the full support and cooperation of Nepali Congress.
"But the party's main focus would be centered on ensuring that a new democratic constitution is drafted by the Constituent Assembly," he said. nepalnews.com ag Apr 20 08