KATHMANDU: Home Minister Sudan Gurung has complained that some lawmakers from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) have been behaving like opposition MPs, strengthening the opposition while criticizing the government from within the party.
Speaking at a party meeting convened by RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane on Wednesday, Home Minister Sudan Gurung raised the issue. According to an RSP lawmaker who attended the meeting, Gurung said that the opposition has grown stronger when RSP lawmakers oppose the government.
He urged the party to resolve internal disputes within the party rather than bring them into Parliament, saying, “Let’s keep domestic disputes at home; don’t protest in the House.”
Gurung also requested that MPs with complaints related to the Home Ministry raise them through his personal secretary, James Karki. “If there are complaints related to the Home Ministry, please meet my personal secretary James Karki and note them,” he said.
At the beginning of the meeting, Chair Lamichhane instructed the MPs to maintain respectful conduct. Under parliamentary practice, the leader of a party’s parliamentary group is expected to monitor and coordinate its lawmakers. However, RSP parliamentary party leader Balendra Shah did not attend the meeting.
Shah has not held or participated in any party meetings since the meeting at which he was appointed parliamentary party leader, paving the way for him to become prime minister. As the government has begun facing increasingly sharp criticism from within the party, Chair Lamichhane has also become more active in parliamentary party affairs.
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