KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress spokesperson and head of the party’s information, communication, and publicity department, Min Bishwakarma, has criticized the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) for launching a signature campaign in support of its jailed party president, Rabi Lamichhane.
Bishwakarma reminded the party of constitutional provisions that prohibit discussion in Parliament on matters sub judice.
Taking to Facebook, Bishwakarma questioned the legitimacy and impact of the ongoing RSP campaign, which aims to gather national and international signatures in protest of Lamichhane’s detention.
“When the Constitution doesn’t even allow discussion in Parliament on matters under judicial consideration, what kind of justice system are we trying to establish through street protests and signature campaigns against court decisions?” he wrote. “Is this the kind of ‘new force’ the Nepali people have been seeking?”
Bishwakarma also raised doubts about the effectiveness of such a campaign, asking where the collected signatures would be submitted and which authority would act on them. “And where will the signatures be submitted? Who will make what decision based on those signatures?” he posted.
RSP has claimed that Lamichhane, currently in judicial custody in connection with a cooperative fraud case, is a victim of political vendetta. The party launched the signature drive on June 21 and plans to continue it until August 15.
It has instructed all its committees — from the central level down to ward offices — to collect signatures through door-to-door visits.
The party’s diaspora wings have also been mobilized to collect signatures abroad. Several artists and public figures have already visited the RSP central office to show their support by signing the petition.
Despite criticism, RSP maintains that the campaign is part of its peaceful and democratic resistance to what it calls an unjust legal and political process targeting its leadership.
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