King Mahendra ordered lift on ban on political parties on 1972

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 23 March: King Mahendra ordered a lift on a ban on political parties in 1972 through an amendment to the constitution, a columnist knowledgeable on palace affairs writes.
But the order was never executed because the King died in January 1972, Maila Baje writes.
“The monarch had asked Sambhu Prasad Gyawali, a former law minister, to draft the necessary constitutional changes.
‘Gyawali reached the royal bungalow at Chitwan with his recommendations on the appointed morning in January 1972, only to learn that King Mahendra had died of a massive heart attack a few hours earlier.”
The revelation is significant and important for confirming speculation the then king considered lifting a constitutional ban on political parties in the panchayat era after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.
Opposition to King Mahendra’s rule through panchayat centered around pressures to lift the ban that culminated in the 1990 movement after which the ban on parties was lifted.
The real identity of Mala Baje is not known but he is knowledgeable of palace affairs.
The columnist also reveals in a write-up entitled: King Mahendra: A legacy looms large, the late King repeatedly attempted but failed in talks with Indian leadership to get Indians out of Kalapani occupied for strategic purposes after the 1962-India-China war.
“…King Mahendra conceded that the dispute had dragged on for too long. He told an aide that he had exhausted what he considered his ‘quota of irritants’ for that particular year,” Maila Baje writes.
“…Narayanhiti Palace has clung on to documents that could have shown how King Mahendra had regularly raised the issue during meetings with Indian leaders.”
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Talks on electoral alliance fail

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 23 March: Three-party talks to forge an electoral alliance between tarai parties to contest the 10 April assembly election has failed.
The failure to the front for electoral adjustment will benefit Congress , CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist), contesting elections for the first time after abandoning the 11-year people’s war.
The terai is the traditional vote bank of CPN-UML and Congress.
The failure of the tarai front soon after it forces Prime Minister Girija Praasad Koirala into concessions on self-determination and provincial rule will divide votes on the three parties in Madesh lessening the chances of three parties to win elections.
“Impossible conditions were presented,” Mahanta Thakur, leader of Tarai Madesh Loktantrik Party (TMLP) told Kantipur revealing at the same time Madesh Jananantrik Forum wanted Nepal Sadbavana Party (NSP) Mahoto group out of the tripartite front.
TMLP, instead, is attempting electoral adjustment with the Mahoto group.
The three parties were trying to forge electoral adjustments in 75 constituencies.
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Nagurjung fire controlled

Kathmandu, 23 March: A fire that destroyed forest cover stretching over three kilometers was finally controlled at 10 in the morning Sunday.
The fire approached the summer palace in the resort.
A cigarette stub probably started the fire late afternoon Saturday.
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