Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) did not include any lawmaker while adding 16 more central members on Monday to make split in the party difficult.
RSP President Rabi Lamichhane inducted those doing journalism and working as professionals in other sectors and even those who have quit other parties to join it while expanding the central committee Monday. But those who were elected to the House of Representatives (HoR) through the Proportional Representation (PR) electoral system including Deputy Parliamentary Party Leader Biraj Bhakta Sherstha, Chief Whip Santosh Pariyar, and Shishir Khanal and Toshima Karki, who were in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal government which the party joined for 40 days, were not inducted in the central committee.
RSP General Secretary and Spokesperson Mukul Dhakal stated that lawmakers were not inducted in the central committee to allow them to focus on the House pointing that the people's agenda can be put on the backburner if they have to focus both on party politics and the House but preventing the lawmakers from splitting the party seems to be the main reason for their exclusion.
"Maneuverings of power centers increase if lawmakers are included in the central committee. We have, therefore, become alert. We have not suspected unnecessarily but rather paid attention to ensure that there are no maneuverings," he added.
The central committee is now 40-strong after inclusion of 16 new central members but Dol Prasad Aryal, Ganesh Parajuli, Sobita Gautam and Sumana Shrestha are the only RSP lawmakers who are in the central committee.
"Fourteen out of 18 of our lawmakers excluding deputy speaker are not in the central committee. We are not for including some and excluding others in the central committee. It is also to ensure that there is not a situation when some are made central members and others are not."
The act about political parties requires support of 40 percent in both the parliamentary party and the central committee to split any political party. Excluding the lawmakers from the central committee seems to be a ploy to stop the lawmakers from engineering a split in the party.
The party has already decided to form a 121-strong central committee after its first general convention which has to be held by December as per the party's statute.
