Kathmandu, July 12; Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leaders have strongly criticized the government for arresting former king Gyanendra Shah’s press secretary Dr Phani Raj Pathak.
Pathak, who was arrested on Friday, was released by the police in the evening after a statement for not using the words “Shree Panch”.
RPP chairman Rajendra Lingden and Chief Whip Gyanendra Shahi have said that honorific words like” “Shree Panch” are a matter of people’s faith and the government should not interfere in it.
Chairman Lingden wrote on social media that honors such as “Shree Panch, “Shree 108,” “Shree 1008” are matters of an individual’s faith and are not subject to the constitution or the law. He said, “There is still a large and strong line of people in Nepal who respect King Gyanendra as Shri Panch. I respect the king as well. “
Lingden said that the arrest, interrogation or spitting of anyone is apolitical and non-republican because of the address of ‘Sri Panch’ to the former King Gyanendra.
Gyanendra Shahi, chief whip of RPP, the fifth largest party in Parliament, has said that the king will always be the king and no law or position can stop the title given by history, culture and religion and the respect from the heart of the people. “The King is always the King, and the King is called the King, the brokers of foreigners are called brokers, those who give up glory and power for their people are called patriots and “Shree Panch”.
“Noting that foreign heads of state still refer to the king as “His Majesty the King,” he challenged the Oli government to summon those foreign heads of state for questioning if it has the courage and guts.
Shahi has stated that they (kings) are the sons of the soil and people honor them as “Shree Panch Maharaj”.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal’s chairman Kamal Thapa, has remarked that once a king ascends to the throne, the post will be for lifelong. Addressing the deposed king “Shree Panch” should not be taken seriously.
Accordingly, advocate Swagat Nepal predicted that addressing “Shree Panch Maharajadhiraj” is an honor and a title given by the Hindu belief. He said, citizens are addressed as “shree Ek (one)”, teachers (gurus) are honored with “Shree Chha” (six). Sanatan scholars are respected as “Shree 108 Guru Maharaj” and also “Shree 1008 Guru Maharaj”. Therefore, using “shree panch” to the former king is not a crime, advocate Nepal predicted.
Meanwhile, Dr Kali Bahadur Rokkaya, a Nepali Christian leader, asking immediate and unconditional release of Dr Phani Raj Pathak, wrote on his FaceBook, “I don’t think the king will ever retire. Once a king, always a king”.
After reading the arrest of Dr Pathak on the charge of using “Shree Panch”, I searched on the Internet about what the trend is in other countries. There are different traditions about how to address those who were formerly kings but are no longer kings. King of Spain Juan Carlos I is no longer a king. King Albert I of Belgium is still known as King Albert. The Netherlands is different. A king or queen is called a prince or princess.
There does not seem to be any specific rule, law or constitutional arrangement regarding this matter in Nepal. Instead, it was felt necessary to have a legal or constitutional provision for King Gyanendra to be called King Gyanendra. There has been no discussion about this in Nepal so far and there is no clear legal/constitutional arrangement, Rokaya stated.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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