KATHMANDU: Former Chair of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Pashupati Shumsher Rana, has strongly condemned the detention of party leaders and demanded their immediate release.
He also warned that the party may be compelled to launch a nationwide agitation if senior vice-chair Rabindra Mishra and general secretary Dhawal Shamsher Rana are not freed.
Speaking to a delegation of party leaders who visited him at his residence on Friday, Rana said the government had violated democratic norms and fundamental human rights by detaining the leaders.
“Freedom of expression is a natural right of all citizens,” Rana said. “In a democracy, people are free to think and speak differently. Detaining party leaders like Rabindra Mishra and Dhaval Shamsher Rana is a grave injustice.”
Rana urged the party to take to the streets to mount pressure for the release of what he called nationalist warriors. He stressed that the detentions were politically motivated and went against the principles of pluralism and free speech.
The visiting delegation included RPP General Secretary Kunti Shahi, Bagmati Province Chief Bikram Thapa, party Spokesperson Sagun Sundar Lawati, Working Committee Member Karna Bahadur Shahi, and Joint General Secretary Rabindra Pratap Shah. Senior central members Jagat Gauchan and Rajaram Shrestha, Kathmandu District President Nawaraj Sinkhara, and youth leader Raju Lohani also accompanied the team.
The RPP has not yet announced any formal protest programs, but pressure is mounting within the party ranks for decisive action.
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