Kathmandu, Aug 21: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chief Rabi Lamichhane has complained to Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda that while many facing similar charges have been spared, he alone has been kept behind bars.

Prachanda, who met Lamichhane at Nakkhu prison on Wednesday, said the RSP leader repeated what he has been saying all along: others in comparable cases have received amnesty, but he has been singled out.

According to Prachanda, Lamichhane told him he was even denied the facility of contesting the case after posting bail equivalent to the amount fixed by the court. He said the ruling coalition and the government had shown bias and treated him with undue harshness.

Lamichhane reportedly believes the way Congress and UML have dealt with him politically has, in fact, benefited him and his party nationwide. Prachanda quoted him as saying the two major parties had ended up hurting themselves by their actions.

The Maoist chair also said Lamichhane expressed that Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar had been unfairly targeted by the same forces. “What has happened is a big injustice. This coalition is leaning towards authoritarianism,” Prachanda quoted him.

Prachanda added that the move against Lamichhane and the Deputy Speaker was not only unjust but also an assault on the constitution and democracy. He claimed the government’s actions had damaged the standing of both Congress and UML among the people.

People’s News Monitoring Service