The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the fourth largest party in Parliament, has launched a nationwide signature campaign to protest the imprisonment of its party president, Rabi Lamichhane. The campaign began on June 21, the party’s third anniversary. The party claims the imprisonment is politically motivated harassment by the ruling coalition.

Lamichhane announced the campaign in a 20-page document released during the party's third anniversary.

He has been charged with defrauding funds from several credit cooperatives across the country to operate the now defunct Galaxy 4K television channel. Before joining politics in 2022, Lamichhane was associated with the TV as a managing director and hosted a programme.

Except for the Sano Paila cooperative case in Birgunj, all other cases against Lamichhane have entered judicial proceedings. The High Court is currently reviewing appeals regarding bail orders issued by district courts in connection with the Surya Darshan Cooperative in Pokhara, Sahara Cooperative in Chitwan, and Swarnalakshmi Cooperative in Kathmandu.

In the case of the Supreme Cooperative in Butwal, the Butwal bench of the Tulsipur High Court issued an order on April 4 to remand him in custody for further investigation, by overturning a previous bail decision.

Lamichhane had filed a petition at the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the High Court’s remand order, while his wife, Nikita Paudel, had filed a habeas corpus petition. Both petitions were heard together, and on May 22, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s decision to keep him in custody.

Since then, Lamichhane has remained in detention. Following his public appeal on the day of the party's founding, the entire party mobilised around his case, focussing on a signature campaign alleging Lamichhane’s arrest is a personal vendetta.

The party's campaign has attracted people from various walks of life. Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, and actors Bipin Karki and Ramesh Upreti, among others, have supported the campaign.

However, not all the people who have joined the campaign are aware of its purpose.

Shamsher Thapa, 16, from Bajhang district, who participated in the campaign on Tuesday in Panga, Kirtipur, said he was unaware of the campaign's goals. Others at the event also could not clearly explain their reasons for participation.

Only a few people could articulate why they had participated. Among them was Sanjya Kumar Maharjan, 51, a permanent resident of Panga.

For Maharjan, the traditional political parties, especially the current coalition partners, the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, have imprisoned RSP chairman Lamichhane for a long time with malafide intentions.

“To show my solidarity with Lamichhane, who rose in politics and gave hope for change, I joined the signature campaign,” Maharjan told the Post.

During the signature drive, the party also collected phone numbers from participants, but this act has sparked criticism. Critics interpret it as an election-oriented tactic, fearing the phone numbers could be used to send targeted messages during elections or the party’s future campaigns.

DP Aryal, acting president of the RSP, said the numbers were collected only to convey regards later to the participants. He stressed that the phone numbers will not be used during their election campaigns, as alleged.

“Only if we breach the good faith of the people by misusing their phone number, our intention could be questioned,” Aryal said. “Moreover, it is not mandatory for anyone to share their phone number to participate in the signature campaign.”

Questions remain about the signature campaign itself.

Advocate Om Prakash Aryal argues that the RSP is using its signature campaign to promote a movement against an independent judiciary.

Aryal claims that although the campaign is being framed as one “against political revenge,” it targets sub judice matters. He also doubts that the phone number collected during the campaign will not be misused.

“Campaigns like these, launched before any offence has even been proven or disproven, amount to a continuous crime,” Aryal said. “Such efforts attempt to influence the court, intimidate lawyers representing victims, and undermine the credibility of the independent judiciary.”

“The RSP has owned up the crimes committed by Lamichhane, and now they are trying to politicise his crimes through the campaign,” Aryal said, adding, “They are also trying to stoke mass protests against the judiciary.”

Aryal argued that the court sent Lamichhane into custody based on the ‘balance of probabilities’. The remand and bail hearings are complete, and the trial hearing is yet to be done, he said.

“If there is political motivation behind Lamichhane’s prosecution, the court may mention it in the final hearing,” Aryal said. “But the signature campaign aims to tarnish the court's image.”

Yagyamai Neupane, an RSP member and advocate, claimed that the signature campaign has nothing to do with court decisions and it would be wrong to treat it as contempt of the court.