Prachanda denies Lamichhane Home Minister post, RSP pulls out of govt

Kathmandu, February 5

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) on Sunday decided to withdraw from Nepal’s ruling coalition after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda refused to reinstate the party’s chairman Rabi Lamichhane as the home minister after he recently re-acquired his citizenship.

RSP’s decision to withdraw from the coalition government does not alter Prachanda’s political fortunes. That’s because even though the RSP has decided to recall their ministers, they will continue to support this government, the Post report added.

The decision was taken after a joint meeting of RSP’s central members and lawmakers. Lamichhane, 48, was elected from Chitwan-2 constituency during the elections held in November last year.

As per reports, he subsequently lost the status of a lawmaker following a verdict by Nepal’s supreme court, which stated that the citizenship certificate he produced to contest the election was invalid.