Although Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) relieved its founding general secretary and spokesperson Mukul Dhakal of all his responsibilities, the party leaders are struggling to pick the new general secretary and spokesperson.

The party's central committee meeting, held on July 9, decided to expel Dhakal from all official posts. However, the central committee retained him as a general member considering his contribution to the party since its inception.

Leaders said the party took action against him on the recommendation of the disciplinary commission that Dhakal had breached party rules and discipline.

Dhakal was punished after he made public his review report that stated the RSP’s popularity had nosedived and that it may face a disaster soon. In the report he submitted to party chief Rabi Lamichhane in June last week, he charged the party leaders with failing to fulfil the promises they made with the general people through Parliament and the government. RSP leaders accused him of making the content of the report public through the media.

He prepared the report after touring 38 districts, which the party had assigned in the wake of the Ilam byelections held in April.

According to party insiders, some key leaders are in the race for the positions of general secretary and party spokesperson.

Top leaders are lobbying to promote the leaders close to them to the major positions. “The way the leaders are engaged in an intense competition within the party for the roles, the issue is unlikely to be resolved soon,” said a leader. “This shows the party might not get a new general secretary and spokesperson immediately.”

The party leaders, however, said that while relieving Dhakal from the official position, the party had given him 35 days to respond. With the time yet to pass, the party cannot appoint its general secretary and spokesperson, claimed the leaders.

“The party gave Dhakal 35 days to counter its decision,” Manish Jha, the acting spokesperson and RSP lawmaker, told the Post. “It would be unfair to Dhakal if the party appoints new officer bearers before the given time.”

But a lawmaker of the party requesting anonymity said that the 35-day timeline was just a technical issue. According to him, the leaders are intensely lobbying for promoting leaders close to them to the twin positions, causing delays.

“There are few chances that the party will appoint a new general secretary and spokesperson in the near future,” the RSP lawmaker told the Post. “The party may not be able to appoint anyone to those positions for some time even after the 35-day deadline.”

On July 3, following suggestions from the party's disciplinary commission, the RSP central committee suspended Dhakal from the position of general secretary and spokesperson. On the same day, the party also picked Deputy General Secretary Kabindra Burlakoti as acting general secretary and Joint Spokesperson Manish Jha as acting spokesperson.

Meanwhile, as the party left the government earlier this month, it plans to run some campaigns.

A leader says the party leadership intends to hold a closed camp of party members in the near future to rejuvenate party activities.

“After getting unseated from the government, our party is currently in a warm-up for the upcoming activities,” Hari Dhakal, a RSP lawmaker, told the Post. “Our party will possibly hold the national conference soon after the closed camp.”

As multiple leaders including party chief Lamichhane and deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar, who was also nominated lawmaker from the same party, face various allegations, leaders have raised voices for intra-party investigations.

Lamichhane has been accused of being involved in embezzling millions of rupees deposited by common people at multiple cooperatives. A parliamentary special committee is investigating the scam.

Deputy Speaker Rana has landed in controversy after a letter written by her requesting the US embassy for interview dates was leaked. She has been blamed for corresponding with a diplomatic agency bypassing Parliament Secretariat and the foreign ministry—that too for individuals not related to the parliament.

“The party is forming a panel under the discipline committee to review all allegations against the party,” lawmaker Dhakal told the Post. “It is as per the decision of the central committee meeting on July 25 and not because anyone raised the issue.”

Apart from this, the party has also decided to form an 11-member statute amendment recommendation led by the party's acting general secretary, Burlakoti, and to form a panel under the discipline committee to review all allegations against the party, lawmaker Dhakal said.

Leaders said they are also planning to organise some demonstrations to mount pressure on the government.

Acting general secretary Burlakoti said his party had tried to draw the attention of the prime minister and finance minister to the sluggish development of various infrastructure projects even in the past as well.

“Our party President and Vice President held a meeting with the prime minister thrice to urge him to give necessary attention to those projects,” Burlakoti told the Post. “Our party also tried to allocate a sufficient budget for these projects.”

Burlakoti claimed that the government fell before the implementation of the budget, so they were unable to provide any tangible result to the public.