KATHMANDU, Dec 25: After a charge sheet was filed against Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), at the District Court of Kaski for cooperative fraud, money laundering, and organized crime on Sunday, he 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.
Currently, major office bearers’ positions within the RSP are being managed in an acting capacity. The party’s General Secretary role has been filled temporarily, with Joint General Secretary Kabindra Burlakoti serving as the acting General Secretary and Joint Spokesperson Manish Jha performing the duties of Acting Spokesperson. Burlakoti and Jha took over these responsibilities after the expulsion of founding General Secretary and spokesperson Dr Mukul Dhakal.
While political analysts call the leadership instability within the RSP as characteristic of an ‘infant party’, they have pointed out the unconventional nature of the party formation to suggest that the future of the party has been flung into chaos due to the appointment of caretaker leadership.
Rabi Lamichhane elected as RSP’s PP leader
Political Sociologist Uddhab Pyakurel told Republica that since the RSP has not followed the conventional institutionalization of a social campaign into a political party but formed a party around chair Lamichhane, the lack of the leading figure exposes the party’s weakness in structure.
“Conventionally, social movements are institutionalized into political parties but RSP was formed by accumulating hatred directed at political parties and the news media,” Pyakurel said, “Social movements are generated around ideas but RSP was formed around chair Lamichhane which suggests that the temporary leadership without his presence could expose a weakness of the party.” He added that since the RSP is synonymous with Lamichhane, his absence creates questions about the existence of the party.
According to political analyst Chandra Dev Bhatta, the make-do leadership of the party will affect the decision-making of the party and showcase the lack of clarity within the party. “As RSP is yet to hold its general convention, the current leadership comprising acting positions is simply make-do,” he told Republica, “This kind of leadership affects the decision-making of the party and exhibits the lack of clarity in the party’s leadership.”
RSP Chairman 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 Sano Paila Cooperative in Parsa, was arrested on October 18. He was sent to Pokhara after his arrest and remains in judicial custody at the District Police Office in Kaski.
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. 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.
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.
_20191222200001.jpg)
