By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : Even as Nepal’s parliament resumes parleys on the fate of the country’s two-century-old royal family Wednesday, embattled King Gyanendra, who was divested of all his official powers and privileges last year, remains at the top of the official hierarchy.
Although a public uprising last year forced the ambitious king, who had seized power with the assistance of the army, to step down and the new government of opposition parties vowed to hold an election to decide his fate, the executive and social hierarchy drawn up by the law, justice and parliamentary ministry still recognises the monarch as the country’s first citizen.
Even his children, grandchildren and nephews and nieces continue to occupy the top positions of the social ladder, ranked above the prime minister, chief justice and speaker.
The revelation came Tuesday when a parliamentary committee scrutinised the salaries of judges to decide if they deserved a hike.
The ministry’s report showed the king was at the top of Nepal’s hierarchy, followed by Queen Komal.
At third place was Crown Prince Paras, followed by his wife, Crown Princess Himani. After them is the queen mother, King Gyanendra’s stepmother Queen Ratna.
Her great-grandson, Paras’ kindergarten-going son Hridayendra, and his two sisters follow her. King’s married daughter, Princess Prerana and his nieces occupy the remaining positions up to ninth.
At the lowly 10th spot is Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, though the new constitution promulgated this year gave him most of the powers and privileges once accorded to the king, including chief of the army and head of state.
Chief Justice Kedar Giri stands in the 11th place, followed by Speaker Subhash Chandra Nembang at the 12th.
The royal family still heads Nepal’s society officially, as the new government, in its two-year tenure, neglected to change the old fiat of the 90s.
Last year, after the fall of King Gyanendra’s regime, the parliament ordered that only the king, queen, crown prince and his wife should remain on the hierarchy ladder, but the government failed to make the necessary changes.
The omission was typical of the Koirala government that has been under mounting criticism for failing to live up to the pledges it made after it came to power without an election.
It failed to hold the critical constituent assembly election twice and is yet to come up with a consensual date for the exercise.
Though unable to hold the election by mid-December, it also failed to amend the constitution that set a mid-December deadline for the polls, creating serious doubts about the legitimacy of the government and constitution.