Kulman Ghising, who signed a merger agreement with the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) a little over a week ago, has claimed that the agreement has not yet been formally implemented.
Ghising made this clarification while announcing his resignation from the ministerial post on Wednesday night.
"Although my name is mentioned in the agreement reached between the Ujyalo Nepal Party and the Rastriya Swatantra Party, that agreement has not been formally implemented so far," Ghising said during a press conference held at the Ministry of Energy at 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
Ghising, who had been leading the Ujyalo Nepal Party as its patron for some time, entered a unification agreement with the RSP on December 29. Following the merger, he has become the top-ranked vice-president of the RSP.
The RSP has included 14 individuals from his party in its list of proportional representation candidates.
Pressure had been mounting on Ghising to leave the government after becoming RSP vice-president. Noting that his presence in a non-partisan government was sending the message that the government belonged to one party, PM Karki had also requested him to step down.
However, Ghising said during an event on January 6 that he was not a member of any party.
His statement denying membership of any party—despite having already signed an agreement to become RSP vice-president—drew criticism.
However, during Wednesday’s press conference as well, Ghising reiterated that he is not a member of any party.
"Despite my support and goodwill, I have not yet taken membership of any political party. It is my clear stance that I will take party membership only after formally entering political life," he stated.
