A day after His Majesty the King started discussions with the leaders of some royalist parties, former Prime Minister and president of Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP), Surya Bahadur Thapa, has dubbed the exercise as a “routine affair.”
Talking to reporters after the completion of the two day long central working committee (CWC) meeting of his party in Kathmandu on Wednesday, former premier Thapa said, “We cannot label it as dialogue unless we get formal release from the Palace,” adding, “Granting audience by the King to the leaders of the area and the region where he is visiting is a common practice.”
The veteran politician urged HM the King to take initiative in creating a conducive environment so that the parties could respond to his call for dialogue. “It is the King who should take the initiatives and then others (parties) will respond to it,” Thapa said.
Hundreds of opposition leaders and cadres, rights activists and civil society leaders are still behind bars. Senior opposition leader, Madhav Kumar Nepal, has been placed under ‘house arrest’ in Kathmandu.
Thapa further said that a constitutional process should be pursued to end prevailing political imbroglio.
Commenting on the recent statement of the US ambassador to Nepal, James F Moriarty, Thapa said though many people didn’t like his remarks, his statements have reflected the ground realities of the country.
“What he (Moriarty) has said is based on reality. His comment is unbiased and he has spoken the right thing.”
US envoy Moriarty has been in the news for crtiticising the alliance between political parties and the Maoists and stressed the need among constitutional forces to resolve the current political stalemate.
Former Prime Minister Thapa, however, said the 12-point understanding between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists had both ‘plus and minus’ points. He, however, alleged that Maoists were not abiding by the 12-point pact that they inked with the seven agitating parties.
Commenting on the current political situation in the country, Thapa emphatically said the ruling establishment should come within the constitutional parameters to create conducive environment for dialogue.
The RJP central committee meeting also passed the political paper presented by Thapa. In his paper, Thapa has accused the ruling establishment of not allowing the constitutional forces to enter into the constitutional parameters.
The RJP meeting also concluded that the Supreme Court’s verdict scrapping the Royal Commission for Corruption Control should be made the starting point to resolve the conflict in the country.
The verdict has also created a foundation for consensus between the constitutional forces, the paper added.
However, the party has warned that an explosive situation couldnot be ruled out if the constitutional forces did not reconcile soon.