KATHMANDU: Leaders of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) launched a scathing critique of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) during Friday’s House of Representatives session, accusing the ruling party of backtracking on a commitment to support their candidate for Deputy Speaker.
Addressing the parliament, RPP Parliamentary Party Leader Gyanendra Shahi claimed that despite their different signboards, there is no fundamental difference between the ideologies of the established parties and the newer political entities.
Shahi revealed that the RPP had fielded Saraswati Lama for the Deputy Speaker post only after receiving explicit assurances of support from RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane. He argued that the recent political maneuvers have exposed a shared umbilical cord between the new and old forces, leaving the RPP as the only true opposition in the current parliament.
“We were assured of cooperation by the largest party in the House, which is why we moved forward with a unanimous decision to file our candidacy,” Shahi stated. He added that the election has served as a litmus test, clearly dividing those who support the imported system from those who advocate for national protection based on traditional values.
Echoing these sentiments, RPP lawmaker Khusbu Oli expressed deep disappointment, stating that the RSP has set a poor precedent of untrustworthiness early in its political journey. Oli noted that the RSP’s last-minute decision to back Shram Sanskriti Party’s Ruby Kumari Thakur—despite prior promises to the RPP—reveals a tendency toward the same political “deceit” seen in older parties.
The Deputy Speaker election, featuring RPP’s Saraswati Lama and Shram Sanskriti Party’s Rubi Kumari Thakur, has effectively drawn a new line in Nepal’s parliamentary landscape, with the RPP leaders vowing to continue their grand campaign for nationalism against what they term an unreliable ruling coalition.
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