Excerpts of an interview with senior advocate Ganesh Raj Sharma and constitution expert broadcast by the BBC Nepali Service and printed in Jana Sathha
Translated by Bhola B Rana
Kathmandu, 20 May: The translated excerpts.
"Their [leaders of seven parties] statements I read after the reinstatement of parliament, is for activating parliament. "They launched a movement to re-activate parliament saying the King had violated the constitution.
"We lawyers came out on the streets [I didn't participate] for the rule of law.
"I don't believe parliament would be declared supreme when the move was to make the people sovereign."
In reply to a question parliament was reinstated through royal proclamation and to legalize it the constitution has to be changed, Sharma said," It [Reinstatement of parliament] happened through a constitutional process. Otherwise, declare the central leadership of seven parties all-powerful.
"I recall the proclamation as saying 'In this all legal provisions will be unacceptable.'" Can parliament make such a declaration?"
"Sometimes some political forces bypass the law and constitution. There have constitutional battles in the world to keep things under law and the constitution. When there was a battle in Great Britain between the King and parliament, one lawyer said the King is under god and law.
"All actions are under the constitutional procedure. They [members of parliament] have only been reinstated without being elected."
"Currently in Nepal, it's not a legal, constitutional battle. It's in a quagmire of a political battle with deep constitutional and legal implications. The constitution is the victim. Under the present circumstances, if the constitution has been side-lined, it will be considered as such and through use of force.
"They will encounter difficulties when one day they will need the support of the people under normal circumstances."
'This was not a movement to overthrow the constitution. We saw the prime minister take the oath of office under the constitution.
"The parliament was reinstated under the constitution."
"They can attain their objectives through a constitutional process. But if a tradition is established to bypass the constitution, they will bypass it today because they are powerful. Tomorrow someone else will be powerful."
"Tomorrow a leader established through election for a constituent assembly will say the constitution is useless. A wrong will establish a wrong precedent. This is the biggest concern."
People’s News/BR
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