Ministers resign from Nepal cabinet en-masse as rift inside ruling coalition intensifies
Feb 05, 2023
Kathmandu [Nepal], February 5 : Nepal's Rashtriya Swatantra Party has decided to withdraw from the newly-formed government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' with ministers resigning from the post en-masse as the rift inside ruling coalition intensifies.
The fourth largest party, RSP held a meeting on Sunday to leave the government and decided to walk out, announced the Party President Rabi Lamichhane.
"The ministers also would submit their resignation to the Prime Minister today itself," Lamichhane said.
Rift inside the ruling coalition started last month after the Supreme Court invalidated the MP post of Lamichhane after his citizenship was termed "invalid" by the court.
Lamichhane also was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs at the time the court delivered the verdict.
Outthrown from the post, Lamichhane had held multiple rounds of meeting with PM Prachanda demanding his own reinstatement and had threatened to walk out if the demands are not met.
Lamichhane-led RSP had taken the General Election of November 2022 by storm emerging as an alternative power and hope for the people. But lately, it got embroiled in the power game and politicking as the authorities are investigating Lamichhane, the former Home Minister in the case of Passport fraud.
Lamichhane was found to be using an American and Nepali passport at the same time. An investigation is underway on the case.
On January 27, Nepal's Supreme Court stripped RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane of his lawmaker position, saying that the citizenship certificate he produced to contest the parliamentary election was invalid. The cancellation of his citizenship certificate also cost him the positions of the home minister and party president, The Kathmandu Post reported.
The Supreme Court's verdict clearly says Lamichanne lost Nepali citizenship once he became an American national. However, in practice, he used the legally scrapped citizenship to get a Nepali passport and to contest the lower house election, according to The Kathmandu Post.
The RSP had been leading the portfolio of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. It also had its MP as state minister of the Ministry of Health and Population.
