RPP Chairman Lingden sparks controversy referring to Gyanendra Shah as a King

KATHMANDU: Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman and lawmaker Rajendra Lingden has sparked controversy in the House of Representatives by referring Gyanendra Shah as a King.

In Friday’s session of the House of Representatives, RPP Chairman Lingden caused commotion by addressing Shah as a king.

Lingden vehemently opposed the statements made by leaders from major political parties, asserting that royalists and former King Shah disrupted social harmony.

Leaders had accused royalists of undermining religious harmony and called for their monitoring.

Lingden questioned the basis for these allegations and sought clarification on how King Gyanendra’s actions had impacted democracy.

He further criticized the government’s actions, such as releasing criminals convicted for serious killings, transferring government land at Lalita Niwas to individuals, alleged involvement in human trafficking of Nepali citizens as fake Bhutanese refugees, and gold smuggling, questioning their compatibility with democratic principles.

The ruling CPN-Maoist Center’s lawmaker, Lekhnath Dahal, also objected to Lingden’s reference to Gyanendra Shah as a king, demanding that the Speaker remove this statement from the parliamentary record.

Dahal emphasized that Nepal’s constitution does not recognize the monarchy and stressed the country’s status as a federal democratic republic.