KATHMANDU: The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has suspended Uddhav Thapa, parliamentary party leader in Bagmati Province, from both his provincial assembly membership and party membership after he backed CPN-UML’s Kiran Thapa for chief minister.
RPP Chair Rajendra Lingden said Thursday’s Central Executive Committee meeting decided to take action against Thapa after he defied repeated party instructions and supported the UML candidate.
Lingden said the party had previously sent Thapa a written directive and had also instructed him through a meeting of the party’s Disciplinary Committee on August 5. Thapa was suspended after he disregarded those directives.
The dispute stems from the formation of a new government in Bagmati Province. The RPP’s Central Executive Committee had decided not to participate in the political manoeuvring surrounding government formation, but Thapa, in his capacity as parliamentary party leader, backed UML’s Kiran Thapa Magar for chief minister.
RPP spokesperson and publicity department chief Mohan Kumar Shrestha had described Thapa’s support as “illegal, political misconduct and unauthorised.”
The party said its Central Executive Committee meeting on August 5 had authorised Chair Lingden to make an appropriate decision regarding the provincial government at an appropriate time. The authority had not been delegated to the parliamentary party leader, the party clarified.
The RPP said Thapa’s decision contradicted both the Central Executive Committee’s position and the Bagmati provincial parliamentary party’s decision not to participate in the political arithmetic of government formation.
The party had instructed Thapa on August 17 to remain neutral in the government formation process, inform party lawmakers and issue a whip accordingly. The RPP said violating the directive constituted a serious breach of party discipline.
The party’s Disciplinary Committee met on Wednesday and gave Thapa 12 hours to submit an explanation. After he failed to respond within the deadline, the party decided to suspend him on Thursday.
The RPP had also asked the Bagmati provincial chief not to recognise a letter submitted in support of Kiran Thapa Magar’s appointment as chief minister, saying the support did not represent an authorised party decision.
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