The two-day central conference of the Raj Parishad—that concluded in the capital Friday—has demanded more active role for the monarch, reports said.

According to news reports, the conference has pointed towards the need to provide more active role to the King by amending the constitution. The nine-point recommendations also include demands for more role and scope for the Raj Parishad itself, according to reports.

The details of the Raj Parishad’s decisions are yet to be made public. Saturday’s Kantipur daily quoted sources as saying that the Parishad has demanded representation of the chairman of the Raj Parishad standing committee in the powerful ‘Constitutional Council.’

The five-member Constitutional Council, headed by Prime Minister, has Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Speaker of the House of Representatives, chairman of the National Assembly, Leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives as its members. The Council makes key recommendations to appoint heads of all the constitutional bodies to His Majesty the King.

Similarly, the Parishad has also proposed to extend its activities up to the district level and get representation in it from all 75 districts of the country.

The decisions of the Raj Parishad will be presented to His Majesty soon.

King Gyanendra inaugurated the two-day conference of the Parishad in the capital, Kathmandu, Thursday amid street protests by student groups affiliated to the opposition parties. Members of the cabinet belonging to the CPN (UML) boycotted the conference terming it as an `unconstitutional move.’

The main role of the Parishad is to choose Heir to the Throne when the incumbent King passes away. The Parishad can also present its recommendations to His Majesty if it is asked for the same.

But there hasn’t been any public announcement if such a request was made. nepalnews.com by Dec 11 04