NC's decision to adopt republican system recieves wide support

Kathmandu, Sep 27 (UNI) The decision of the Nepali Congress to adopt a republican system of governance, abolishing monarchy has been welcomed across the political spectrum in the Himalayan nation.

The Nepali Congress' Maha Samiti meeting had approved the abolition of 239-year-old monarchy to adopt a federal democratic republican system.

CPN-UML and Maoists, which have already expressed their support to the republican system, welcomed the decision.

Party supporters have said that the decision was in accordance with the aspirations of the people.

''Democracy and monarchy cannot go together as the King has time and again grabbed people's rights and we have to struggle time and again,'' said NC General Secretary Ram Chandra Paudel.

King Mahendra, father of the suspended King Gyanendra, had sacked the first elected prime minister of the country B P Koirala from the first general elections of 1959.

Democracy was restored in 1990 but Gyanendra grabbed the power in 2002, declaring himself the chairman of the council of ministers and sidelining the mainstream political parties.

Nepali Congress has said that federal republican state, an inclusive and complete democratic administration, socio-economic arrangements based on justice and prosperity and strong national unity based on tolerance among people will be its policy.

''Nepali Congress wants genuine democracy based on people's moral power and volunteer consent, but monarchies and authoritarian regimes want to suppress the people's conscience through violence and use of force,'' the party said.

The party has proposed to devise a process to choose the head of the state on the pattern of Indian presidential polls.

With the decision of the Nepali Congress, which unified with its breakaway faction NC-D, the monarchy was certain to be abolished from the country.

UNI