Another bill tabled in parliament to clip royal powers

July 28, 2006
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The government on Thursday tabled a bill at the reinstated House of Representatives seeking clipping most of the power and facilities enjoyed by the King and the royal family.

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Narendra Bikram Nemwang

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Narendra Bikram Nemwang (File Photo)
The bill tabled by Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Narendra Bikram Nemwang proposes amendments to 24 laws that give special status or privileges to the king and the royal family.

The bill proposes to oust the king from the universities, religious site development trusts and nature conservation trusts, among others.

Once the bill is passed, the king will no longer be chancellor of the country’s two oldest universities–Tribhuvan and Mahendra Sanskrit. He will also not remain patron of King Mahendra Trust Nature Conservation (KMTNC), Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) and Lumbini Development Trust (LDT).

It would also allow the Prime Minister to usurp all the organizations and committees patronized and chaired by the royal couple or the crown prince.

Ministers of the line ministries would then be the vice-chairpersons of those organizations and committees.

After the bill was passed, annual reports of all the constitutional bodies would then be presented to the Prime Minister instead of King.

The government has also proposed to change the name of Mahendra Sanskrit University to Nepal Sanskrit University. Passage of the bills by the house will pave the way for new appointments in various universities of the country.

After the amendment, the cabinet will exercise all executive powers. With the adding of new clauses to the Income Tax Act (2058) and Land Revenue Act (2019), all the king’s property has been made taxable.

The government also tabled a separate bill in the house to revive six laws which were amended by the king but became defunct after failing to get the necessary extension.

The parliament reinstated through the popular movement of the country has already cut off various royal powers through historic parliament and made it supreme.