Anxious Rabi’s tactical tact: Can he woo the opposition?

Kathmandu, September 24 — The Rashtriya Swotantra Party (RSP) is seeking support from opposition parties to prevent the arrest of President Rabi Lamichhane. According to sources from RSP, parties including the CPN (Maoist Centre) have expressed their commitment to support Rabi.

"Conversations have taken place with parties other than UML and Congress. The government is acting with the intention of causing harm to Rabi, we have received commitments from the opposition parties that they will support us," the source told Ratopati, adding, "Discussions have been held with the Maoist party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). We have received positive responses."

Following the submission of a report by the parliamentary committee regarding cooperative embezzlement, the Cabinet has decided to implement the report. As a result, former DIG and one of the founders of Gorkha Media Network, Chhabilal Joshi, has been arrested. His arrest has created fear within RSP, and President Lamichhane is reportedly anxious.

"The president has spoken to the party leaders. The deputy leader of the parliamentary party has communicated with acting Prime Minister Prakashman Singh, and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has also expressed the desire to have a dialogue. All leaders are in talks as much as possible," the source stated.

According to sources, Rabi is seeking support from other parties, claiming that political revenge has been inflicted upon him and that the two major parties are collaborating to suppress other parties.

"After eliminating Rabi, there will be an effort to suppress alternative politics and the entire opposition. We need to resist the strategy that the two parties are trying to impose on the whole country, not just save Rabi," the source explained.

A special investigation committee led by Surya Thapa has submitted a nearly 1,200-page report to Parliament. The report concludes that over 650 million rupees from various cooperatives have been funneled into Galaxy Television under Gorkha Media, recommending action against various individuals.

The committee's report states that GB Rai and Chhabilal Joshi are found guilty of funneling money from cooperatives into Gorkha Media. The documents presented at the cooperative were also deemed forged. After the money arrived at Gorkha Media, Lamichhane has been implicated in the embezzlement, as recommended by the committee's report.

Thus, following Joshi's arrest, Lamichhane is anxious, according to a party leader. The party concludes that Rabi could be arrested at any time.

"There was an attempt to arrest him two days ago, but it was unsuccessful. Our conclusion is that Rabi will be arrested and imprisoned for a few days," said a RSP source.

On Sunday night, news emerged that "Rabi would be arrested." At that time, RSP called all available leaders and workers to the party office. The vice-president Swarnim Bagale, along with other leaders who were in China, received instructions to return immediately. This team is expected to return to Nepal on Wednesday. Subsequently, while speaking to journalists, Rabi instructed his supporters to prepare for resistance, indicating he could be arrested at any time. He has been continuously consulting with others since then.

Challenging Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, he wrote a status update. There are also speculations about a possible conversation between the Prime Minister and Rabi.

Rajendra Gautam, head of the publicity department of CPN-UML, stated he is unaware of any conversation between Rabi Lamichhane and the Prime Minister. He emphasized that it makes no sense for Lamichhane to seek favor or not.

"Because there is no alternative to implementing the direction given by the parliamentary committee. The Cabinet has already decided to implement the committee's report and directed the Home Minister accordingly," he said. "Once the Cabinet has handed it over to the Home Ministry, and the Home Minister has also moved forward with the necessary actions, it is a matter of implementation. It cannot be resolved through lobbying."

Rabi prepares response to present in court

Rabi is preparing responses to present in court. RSP is only prepared to accept a warrant of arrest from the court. Otherwise, it is prepared to contest if the Home Ministry involves the police administration. According to a party leader, the party has held extensive discussions with legal professionals for this purpose.

The party has prepared written arguments on what points to present in court. "We will accept the warrant if it comes from the court. We cannot accept political revenge," the leader said. "If we have to appear in court, we are prepared with the subjects and evidence we need to present."

Rabi himself has stated that he is willing to cooperate if an impartial investigation takes place. Rabi Lamichhane has made a statement clarifying that he cannot be a scapegoat to save anyone's politics. He was referring to Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa.

RSP parliamentary party deputy leader Biraj Bhakt Shrestha has also indicated that the state will assist in conducting an impartial investigation. However, he stated that it would not be acceptable for the government to arrest him based on political revenge.

"If a warrant comes from the court, it would also provide us with an opportunity to clear everything. We will always stand by any work conducted fairly by the state," he said. "However, politics of revenge will not be accepted. We cannot accept the attitude shown by the government that prevents our political rise."

Plan to arrest Rabi put on hold

The plan to arrest Rabi has suddenly been put on hold. After the arrest of former DIG Chhabilal Joshi on September 22 from Baneshwar, Rabi Lamichhane became the target. Fearing that the government could take action against him, Lamichhane has been anxious.

On that day, a large number of police were present outside the party office. DSP Ram Kumar Dangi from Balaju and DSP Satya Thapa from Sohrakhutte were sent there. An official from the police headquarters stated, "After the arrest of Chhabilal Joshi, there was a standby situation regarding Lamichhane."

However, the police suddenly backed off. The order to hold off on the plan to arrest Lamichhane led the two DSPs to return from RSP’s office in Bansthali.

The police's preparation to arrest Rabi is based on a statement from Joshi regarding the funds misappropriated from the Suryadarshan Cooperative. An official from the police headquarters informed Ratopati, "We have begun the second phase of investigation into the Suryadarshan funds. Additional accused may be arrested based on statements and evidence."

Former DIG Joshi, former Home Minister Lamichhane, and Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, the founding chairman of the Suryadarshan Cooperative, are business partners. The parliamentary investigation committee led by Surya Thapa concluded that 654 million rupees had been illegally transferred from five cooperatives to Gorkha Media Network.

Joshi is currently being investigated by the Kaski police for cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering. SP Mohan Thapa from Kaski stated that they have begun taking Joshi's statement. "We are in the process of taking his statement," he said.

In cases of money laundering, the police can hold Joshi for up to 90 days for investigation.

Lamichhane was a director at Gorkha Media. Millions of rupees illegally transferred from cooperatives have checks issued with his signature. The parliamentary investigation committee concluded that the documentation required for loan disbursement from the cooperative was forged by the group including GB Rai. The police are also investigating forged documents against Joshi. However, there is no legal provision for a forgery case if official documents have not been forged.

I left Gorkha Media after controversy: Joshi

After disputes, Joshi stated that he left Gorkha Media. He said that he and GB had established Gorkha Media with 50-50 percent investment and that they had given Lamichhane a 15 percent "sweat" equity. Joshi informed investigators that the disagreement arose when GB tried to increase investment by putting his house as collateral.

Joshi told the police, "I left my 7.5 percent shares for Rabi. I don’t know where the money came from later."

The parliamentary investigation committee concluded that Lamichhane was involved in the process of spending and managing the funds that came irregularly from the cooperative to the Gorkha Media Network. The committee recommends bringing supplementary charges against the directors of Gorkha Media, including Kumar Ramtel, Chhabilal Joshi, and Rabi Lamichhane.

The case against Gitendra Babu Rai is currently under consideration at the Kaski District Court. An Interpol red notice has been issued for his arrest. Kumar Ramtel, treasurer of Suryadarshan Cooperative, has already been arrested and is currently in custody for trial. The police investigation has concluded that 1.08 billion rupees were embezzled from Suryadarshan.