Nepal king loses palace, property

With 90 days left for a critical election that would seal King Gyanendra's fate, the monarch received a fresh blow Thursday with the government announcing it was taking over the royal palace in the capital, the official residence of the king as well as six more palaces in the kingdom.

Kathmandu's Narayanhity royal palace, once a major tourist attraction where people flocked on special days to catch a glimpse of the royal family, will now be taken over by the state and put for public use, Nepal's council of ministers decided at a meeting.

However, the ministers agreed to allow King Gyanendra and Queen Komal to reside in the pink palace for now.

The decision comes three days after the government formed a team of five ministers to assess the properties of slain king Birendra that was inherited by the current king and nationalize the inherited property.

Besides the Narayanhity palace, the government is also taking over the Hanumandhoka palace in Kathmandu, royal palaces in neighbouring districts of Bhaktapur and Patan, all of them major tourist attractions, and the royal palaces in Gorkha, from where the king's ancestors hailed, Lamjung and Nuwakot.

In addition, the government is also taking over 1,500 bighas of land owned by the royal family.

Media reports said that Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, who is heading the nationalization team, has asked land revenue offices to stop attempts to sell any of the nationalized properties.

Reports also said the committee will seal the bank accounts of the King, Queen and Crown Prince Paras to scrutinize if they contain any assets belonging to slain king Birendra and his family and, if so, seize them.

The royal family had intimations that such a fate could eventually befall them.

The king and queen are scheduled to shift from the palace to their personal residence in Nagarjuna on the outskirts of Kathmandu valley, which King Gyanendra renovated during his 15-month rule to add a swimming pool, helipad and other luxuries.

Informed sources said the royal family has indicated they would stay in Nagarjuna for three months.

By that time, the crucial constituent assembly election -- scheduled for Nov 22 -- would be over and people would have chosen between monarchy and a republic.

After dawdling on taking any punitive action against the king for trying to impose his absolute rule through an army-backed coup, the government finally this week started moving with a vengeance under pressure from the Maoists.

The communist guerrilla, who fought a 10-year battle trying to abolish monarchy and came close to their desire when the parties agreed to hold an election to decide the king's fate, now have a new demand.

They want monarchy to be abolished before the election on the ground that as long as the king remained, he would try to sabotage the polls.

The indications of the drastic step came when the army, once a staunch supporter of the palace, finally started removing the king and queen's photographs from its offices. (IANS)

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