KATHMANDU, Dec 24: A charge sheet has been filed against Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), in the District Court of Kaski for cooperative fraud, money laundering, and organized crime. As a result, Lamichhane has lost both his seat as a Member of Parliament (MP) and his position as party chairman. Following this, the party’s secretariat meeting held on Monday appointed Vice Chairman Dol Prasad (DP) Aryal as the acting chairman.
Lamichhane, who had not appointed an acting chairman during his two-month police custody, designated Aryal as acting chairman after the charge sheet was filed.
Currently, major office bearers’ positions within the RSP are being managed in an acting capacity. The party’s General Secretary role is also being filled temporarily, with Joint General Secretary Kabindra Burlakoti serving as the acting General Secretary. Burlakoti took over this responsibility after the removal of founding General Secretary Dr Mukul Dhakal, who was expelled from the party and reduced to an ordinary member.
RSP Chair Lamichhane’s wife made defendant in Suryadarshan Coop...
In the RSP, not only the Vice Chairman and General Secretary roles but also the Spokesperson position is currently filled by acting officials. Joint Spokesperson Manish Jha is performing the duties of Acting Spokesperson. Previously, General Secretary Dr Mukul Dhakal had held the Spokesperson position, but after his removal, Jha took over this responsibility.
With Lamichhane’s suspension from the post of MP, the RSP will also have an acting Parliamentary Party (PP) leader in the federal parliament.
Lamichhane, who is facing allegations of embezzling funds from several cooperatives, including Swarna Laxmi in Kathmandu, Surya Darshan in Pokhara, Supreme Cooperatives in Butwal, Sahara Cooperatives in Chitwan and Saino Paila Cooperation in Parsa, was arrested November 5. He was sent to Pokhara after his arrest and remains in judicial custody at the District Police Office in Kaski. During this time, he has been interrogated in relation to the cooperatives in question.
The police have submitted a report, spanning over 400 pages, to the District Government Attorney's Office in Kaski, which led to the registration of the charge sheet in the District Court. Following this, the responsibility of the party’s acting president was handed over to Aryal.
Meanwhile, General Secretary Dr Mukul Dhakal, who had previously visited 39 districts and submitted a 32-page report to the party, was removed for questioning party leadership and offering criticisms and suggestions about its future. The RSP leadership deemed these criticisms and suggestions to be fabricated, leading to Dhakal's expulsion and the transfer of his roles to acting official. As a result, the Rastriya Swatantra Party now operates under officials with caretaker status.
