KATHMANDU: Leaders and cadres from Humla district staged an overnight sit-in at the central office of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Ghantighar on Friday night, expressing anger over the party’s proportional representation list.
Humla district chair Lrajit Pariyar and leader Ganesh Pandey, along with other leaders from Karnali, joined the sit-in at the party’s central office.
The protest was triggered after the party removed Tashi Lhazom’s name from the proportional list, and Karnali’s representation was excluded. Ganesh Pandey clarified that Tashi Lhazom did not voluntarily withdraw her name; rather, the party unilaterally removed it. “We had to sit overnight in protest because the region was not represented,” Pandey said.
Tashi Lhazom, who was listed under the indigenous ethnic cluster, also denied withdrawing her name and criticized the party leadership for making a unilateral decision. She refuted allegations linking her to the Free Tibet movement and clarified, “I am not a Tibetan citizen, nor am I involved in the Free Tibet campaign. My partner is also not Tibetan. I did not participate in any process to withdraw my nomination.”
She further said that she was not consulted before her name was removed from the list. “If my name was removed from the proportional list, please discuss it with DP Aryal. I was neither asked nor involved in any discussion,” she stated.
RSP spokesperson Manish Jha, however, said the decision to remove Tashi’s name was made after discussions with the party’s leaders. Tashi has requested that inquiries regarding her removal be addressed to RSP vice-chair Dol Prasad Aryal.
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