By IANS
Kathmandu : Almost five years after it was dissolved for defiance, Nepal's resurrected parliament has finally got its revenge – becoming empowered to axe King Gyanendra ahead of the crucial November election.
It was a moment of triumph for the Maoist guerrillas, who had begun a war on the monarchy 11 years ago, as the house, in a near-midnight drama Wednesday, voted overwhelmingly to amend the new constitution and insert a provision that now enables it to abolish monarchy.
All but two of the 283 MPs present in the marathon session Wednesday voted for the provision that will now allow parliament to remove the king if it feels he is trying to sabotage the constituent assembly election slated for mid-November, provided the move is supported by two-thirds of the 329-member house.
This is the first time in Nepal's history that parliament has been given the power to remove the king, who was earlier regarded as an incarnation of a Hindu deity and as one above law.
King Gyanendra became increasingly unpopular since 2005 when he tried to rule the country with the help of the army but was forced to step down after a public uprising.
Since then, parliament, in a bid to prevent future coups, began axing the king's powers and privileges, finally enforcing a new constitution this year that put monarchy on hold till the election, when voters will decide if the king should remain or make way for a republic.
However, the Maoists, who joined the government in April, have been expressing fears that King Gyanendra would not sit idle while his throne is abolished and would try to sabotage the election, already postponed once.
An alliance of communist parties spearheaded by the Maoists finally managed to put the new provision in the constitution.
But it is unlikely that the new clause would be actually used.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and his Nepali Congress, the biggest party in parliament, are opposed to deciding the king's fate through parliament and have the backing of the international community.
While two MPs of a communist party, People's Front, voted against the move, 46 legislators, including three ex-premiers, abstained.
The three were deposed prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, veteran Nepali Congress leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Surya Bahadur Thapa.
The marathon parliament session Wednesday also voted in a measure that will enable it to remove the prime minister through a no-trust vote.
The prime minister, who has become the most powerful figure in Nepal after last year's pro-democracy movement and now holds the powers and positions earlier enjoyed by the king, can be removed if two-third of MPs vote against him.
However, there can be only two no-trust motions in a year.
The session also put its seal of approval on the new time frame for the deferred election. Instead of mid-June, the crucial poll has now been shifted to mid-November, after the Election Commission said polls were impossible in June due to the fragile security situation and lack of election laws.
There were no immediate reactions from the palace.
However, Nepal's tabloids reported that King Gyanendra was suffering from high blood pressure and chest problems and had been advised by his physicians to go abroad for treatment.