Rajendra Mahato, a leader of the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, has expressed his dissatisfaction over Kailali District Court’s decision to hand down a life sentence to Resham Chaudhary, the main accused in 2015 Tikapur incident.

Chaudhary won the parliamentary elections on Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal ticket from Kailali Constituency 1 even though he was in hiding at the time of elections.

At least nine people including a senior officer and a child were killed in the Kailali violence.

Mahato, who is the coordinator of the party presidium, said the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal would not accept the district court’s judgment of slapping a people’s representative with a life term.

Terming the court’s decision handing down a life sentence to his party lawmaker Chaudhary is “grave injustice, Mahato said a national revolt will begin in the country against the decision.

He claimed that all Tharus, Janajatis, Pahadis and Madhesis “will start a revolt in the country”.

“Time has come to fight against the tendency of domination and exploitation,” Mahato added.

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Chaudhary was among the 11 people who were given 20 years in jail by a single bench of Judge Parshuram Bhattarai on Wednesday after a week-long hearing.

Mahato said the people had been speaking against the court when the court did injustice in the past and they are still speaking against the court.

“I know Resham Chaudhary was a protester during the Thaurhat movement,” Mahato said. “If the agitators are slapped with life imprisonment, why didn’t the court hand down life sentence to Pushpa Kamal Dahal, KP Sharma Oli and Girija Prasad Koirala?” he asked.

Responding to media on the premises of Federal Parliament in New Baneshwor on Wednesday, he said the party would take the decision whether to withdraw the support extended to the government.

Moments after the court decision, the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal had called an emergency meeting in Kathmandu and held discussions on withdrawing support to the government.

“But only withdrawing the support to the government will not work now. People will give justice now. We will go to the people and they will ensure justice,” he said. “We’ve realized that all the government agencies are the same. People who have been subjected to exploitation won’t get justice from any of these agencies. People are forced to face punishments like life sentence under various pretexts,” Mahato said. “I respect the court but the court should also give justice to all. Now, we will go to the court of the people,” he said.

The court has sent 12 others with three years in jail each. Three persons have been acquitted.

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