Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The chairpersons of two pro-monarchy parties— Rajendra Lingden of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Kamal Thapa of RPP Nepal—were conspicuously absent from a press meet organized by the ‘Joint Movement Committee for the Restoration of Monarchy’ in Kathmandu on Thursday.
However, RPP leaders, including General Secretary Dhawal Shamsher Rana and Prakash Chandra Lohani, were present at the event.
RPP holds 14 seats in the House of Representatives, while RPP Nepal has no parliamentary representation.
At the press meet, the committee announced that medical entrepreneur Durga Prasai has been appointed the commander of the movement, while an advisory committee has been formed under Dr Jag Man Gurung. Similarly, Rana has been named coordinator of the movement’s mobilisation committee, which consists of 1,111 members.
Speaking at the press meet, Nawaraj Subedi, coordinator of the Joint Movement Committee for the Restoration of Monarchy, said the movement would continue relentlessly to reinstate the constitutional monarchy and abolish federalism. “After holding a demonstration in Kathmandu on Friday, further protest programmes will be intensified from Sunday,” Subedi said. “There is a need for consensus among major political parties, using the 1990 constitution as a foundation while incorporating positive provisions from the 2015 constitution. This would enable a structural review of both the constitution and the governance system.”
