Rastriya Swatantra Party sets conditions for joining government

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has announced that it will carefully assess the advantages and disadvantages before deciding whether to join the government. During a central committee meeting held on Monday in Kathmandu, the party decided to hold a joint meeting of its central and parliamentary committees on Wednesday to discuss whether to join the government.

According to Mukukl Dhakal, the RSP spokesperson, the party members will weigh the prospects of joining the government during the joint meeting. Dhakal added that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was positive about offering RSP the same ministries it was holding before it decided to quit the government. The PM also reportedly assured party President Rabi Lamichhane that the government would implement RSP’s policies and programs.

However, Dhakal emphasized that the RSP would only join the government if they were given the ministries they held earlier and if there was an assurance of their policies and programs being implemented. The party had three ministers and one minister of state in the government before it decided to quit the coalition government.

The RSP withdrew from the government after the Supreme Court ruled that its President, Rabi Lamichhane, was ineligible to hold public office. The court found that Lamichhane had not reacquired Nepali citizenship, which he relinquished to obtain US citizenship.