Nepal King swears by Constitution, all others skeptical

Any hope that King Gyanendra would give a clear response to the Supreme Court’s direction that the King should act solely on the advice...

Any hope that King Gyanendra would give a clear response to the Supreme Court’s direction that the King should act solely on the advice of elected ministers was shattered when he made only an unconvincing appeal to ‘‘willing democratic parties’’ to come forward for dialogue to restore the democratic process.

‘‘Let us hear each other, remove differences, build consensus and conciliation and strengthen peace and democracy,’’ said Gyanendra in his speech on the occasion of Democracy Day. But political parties characterised his appeal as ‘‘half-hearted’’ and aimed at legitimising his takeover of executive powers on February 1 last year.

‘‘We cannot achieve real demcracy so long as the king stays,’’ said a statement issued by the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML).

‘‘I am determined to follow and protect the Constitution in the best interest and prosperity of the people of Nepal,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘All should accept that democracy can best be preserved by rule of law alone, and the Constitution is the basis of rule of law.’’

However, Gyanendra’s assertion on ‘‘following the Constitution’’ found few takers with the continuity of a council of ministers handpicked by him, most of them in favour of the King’s power being beyond judicial scrutiny. The Supreme Court has rejected this on Monday while declaring unconstitutional the formation of an anti-corruption body by the King.