Kathmandu, Nepal, February 13, 2023: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has decided not to join in the government even though another major ruling partner- CPN UML- was exerting pressure on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to reappoint its president Ravi Lamichhane in the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs.
A joint meeting of the party’s Central Working Committee and Parliamentary Committee held at the party’s headquarters in Sanepa on Monday took a decision to this effect.
‘We have decided not to join in the government at anytime soon as Prime Minister Dahal failed to honor the agreement reached earlier with the ruling partners, RSP’s Joint General Secretary Kabindra Burlakoti said after the meeting.
RSP had already decided to quit the government after the Prime Minister refused to reinstate RSP Chairman Lamichhane to the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs. However, the party has been continuing its support to the government.
Lamichhane had quit the posts from the ranges of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs to party president and parliamentary party leader after the Supreme Court found him guilty in the citizenship case. However, the party had wanted to restore its president in the previous position after he regained citizenship certificate.
However, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also the chairman of the CPN Maoist Center, declined to restore Lamichhane in the previous position even though he was under pressure even from the UML Chair KP Oli for the same.
Likewise, the meeting of the RSP also decided to expand its Central Working Committee to 40 members. The party earlier had only 24 Central Working Committee members.
The newly appointed 16 CC members include as Tika Sangraula, Hari Bhatta, Dhruba Giri, Bijaya Jairu, Megh Ale, Mohan Bahadur Thapa, Khusbu Sarkar Shrestha, Goma Chhetri, Lima Adhikari, Ramesh Prasain, Arjun Adhikari, Kranti Shikha Dhital, Nisha Mehata, Bindhabasini Kansakar, Rupa Shankar and Pratibha Rawal.
