Members of dissolved Raj Parishad to move SC

Members of the dissolved Raj Parishad, the King's privy council, have said they are preparing to move the Supreme Court against the recent declaration of House of Representatives (HoR) dissolving the Parishad nepalnews reports.

chairman of the dissolved Raj Parishad Standing Committee Parshu Narayan Chaudhary said the members held several rounds of informal meetings aimed at seeking help of legal experts to challenge the decision of cabinet and declaration of the House.

"The declaration is against the spirit of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990," Choudhary said, adding, "We are holding discussions and seeking support from legal experts on how we can bring the issue to the court."

He, however, did not reveal when the writ would be filed at the Supreme Court.

According to Choudhary, all benefits enjoyed by the members of the dissolved Raj Parishad have been returned to the concerned authority.

Pradeep Kishor Ghimire, under secretary at the dissolved Parishad told that all the members had returned their vehicles on the second day of the HoR declaration. Chaudhary shifted from his official residence at Baluwatar to new residence at Lokanthali two days after the declaration. He said, "I have not gone to the office from the day the House passed the declaration." Three of the returned vehicles have already been sent to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

Parishad secretary appointed by the King stopped coming to the office while seven other officials have been given responsibilities to shift all documents to the office of the council of ministers. Out of 43 government employees working before the dissolution, 36 officials have already begun to attend at the ministry of local administration. Bhimire informed that the Parishad building would be turned vacant within this week, it is said.

Cleaning of the Parishad building had stopped immediately after the dissolution. Piles of rubbish and broken pieces of furniture and papers can be seen in and around the building.

It is not known how much of budget allocated for the King’s advisory body for this year has been spent. Chaudhary said he had no information about the total expenditure made in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year. Officials said they had no say in financial matters expenditures and that all decisions regarding the Parishad’s expenses would be taken by ousted secretary Madan Prasad Aryal.

The Parishad had been active in political affairs after the first royal takeover of October 4, 2002 and advised the King for complete takeover on February 1, 2005.

The Parishad was dissolved through the declaration of the reinstated HoR on May 18.