KATHMANDU: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane has urged party leaders and cadres to take greater responsibility to ensure that the actions of those leading the party and government do not undermine democracy or bring disrepute to the party.
Addressing the closing session of the first series of the ‘Policy, Organisation and Leadership’ programme organised by the RSP in Kathmandu on Saturday and Sunday, Lamichhane said the party could no longer escape responsibility by merely blaming the shortcomings of traditional political parties.
He stressed that even if the party cannot accomplish something significant, it should at least avoid doing anything wrong.
Lamichhane said the RSP had previously benefited politically by highlighting the failures of established parties, but that advantage was no longer available.
“Until yesterday, we could make ourselves look taller by pointing out the failures of old parties. We no longer have that privilege,” he said.
Instead of dwelling on the past, Lamichhane called for a clear plan for the country’s future.
“Let us not spend our time accounting for the past 35 years. Let us start preparing for what we want the next 35 years to look like,” he said.
He said various structures established over the past 35 years were already functioning and that the key challenge was to present a clear vision of where the country should be taken over the next 35 years.
Lamichhane stressed the need for the RSP to formulate clear policies on education, health, development and the economy.
“What is our education and health policy? What is our development policy? What shape is our economy taking?” he questioned.
He also said political training should encourage participants to think and communicate beyond conventional political approaches.
Claiming that the RSP was now leading one of the country’s largest political forces, Lamichhane said the position came with greater responsibility.
“I will not let your heads bow because of me. I will make every effort to keep your heads held high,” he said.
He urged party leaders to remain resilient, saying they should be capable of getting back up and moving forward even after setbacks.
Lamichhane also called on leaders and cadres from different professional backgrounds to act with greater responsibility and ensure that their actions, knowingly or unknowingly, do not weaken democracy.
He said the fact that various organisations appeared fearful did not mean democracy had already become weak.
“Democracy would have collapsed long ago if it were weak,” he said, stressing that strengthening democracy was now a responsibility of RSP leaders and cadres.
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