The constitution of the interim Parliament shows politics in Nepal is a family affair for many as in other South Asian countries.The ruling Nepali Congress has nominated Sujata Koirala, only daughter of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, to Parliament. Prakash Man Singh, son of veteran democratic leader Ganesh Man Singh, who led the 1990 pro-Democarcy movement, and Bimalendra Nidhi, son of another veteran Terai leader Mahendra Narayan Nidhi, were also nominated to the new Parliament by the Nepali Congress (Democratic).As expected, all the members of the reinstated Parliament who joined the royal cabinet have been given the boot.Family ties could not save Prakash Koirala, the father of Bollywood star Manisha Koirala and Sujata’s cousin, who lost his seat for being a member of the erstwhile Royal cabinet. Prakash is the son of the first elected Prime Minister Bishweswar Prasad Koirala, elder brother of the current premier.Sujata, 54, has been active in social works for a decade was nominated as the member of the central working committee of the Nepali Congress a couple of years ago. She was jailed for months for actively participating in the anti-King agitation launched by the Seven Party Alliance that led to restoration of multi-party democracy in April last year.The nomination of Shailaja Acharya, another Koirala family member, to the post of Ambassador to India, had stirred a major controversy recently as her detractors claimed she was a King loyalist.
