Tension has resurfaced within the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) after lawmaker Lalbir Chaudhary questioned the role of party Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha.
Lalbir, who is also the father of NUP patron Resham Chaudhary, accused Shrestha of preventing Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak from responding in the House of Representatives regarding the events of April 30, bringing intra-party dispute to the fore again.
On April 30, when the Janamat Party and the NUP were set to announce their unification, NUP patron Resham Chaudhary was arrested from the Nepal Academy premises in Kamaladi of Kathmandu. He was released after four hours, but the party unification fell apart. Chaudhary’s arrest followed an unauthorized letter from Mahiman Singh Bista, an employee at the Supreme Court’s case and writ section.
The NUP protested in Parliament, demanding answers on the issue. Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak informed Speaker Devraj Ghimire that he would respond on May 8. After the speaker informed the House about it, the NUP allowed parliamentary proceedings to continue.
As promised, Lekhak addressed the House regarding the issue on Thursday. However, a new dispute arose within the NUP after that.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, lawmaker Lalbir Chaudhary accused Chairperson Shrestha of conspiring for saying that there was no need to respond in Parliament and that she had already settled things with patron Resham Chaudhary.
Another NUP lawmaker, Gangaram Chaudhary, also demanded answers in a similar tone. “On April 30, 2025, Mahiman Singh Bista, a section chief of the respected Supreme Court, prepared an unauthorized letter, leading to a five-hour imprisonment of our party patron Resham Lal Chaudhary, violating his civil rights,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “When we demanded answers through Parliament and the home minister was prepared to respond on May 8, the party chairperson said there was no need to respond and that she had already settled things with the patron. What kind of conspiracy is this?”
Lawmaker Lalbir Chaudhary insisted that Chairperson Shrestha must provide answers. “The chairperson must respond to this. We thank the home minister for addressing our demand and responding today!” he wrote.
Another lawmaker Gangaram Chaudhary also demanded a response from the chairperson.
When we asked Chairperson Shrestha about the issue, she denied having the authority to stop Home Minister Lekhak from responding. “Is the home minister in my pocket? Do I decide whether he responds or not? We had demanded a response, and he provided it. That’s all,” she said.
She claimed to be unaware of lawmaker Lalbir Chaudhary’s post. “When the home minister was responding, he (Lalbir) wasn’t in the House. He was unwell. It’s better to ask him directly about the status,” she added.
