Kathmandu, July 18
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has claimed that nearly 2.5 million people have signed a petition in support of its president, Rabi Lamichhane, who is currently in judicial custody in connection with a cooperative fraud case.
At a press conference held at the party’s central office in Baneshwor on Thursday, the RSP announced that a total of 2,457,618 signatures had been collected so far as part of its campaign, which it says is a response to what it calls “state-led political retaliation” against Lamichhane.
RSP leader Deepak Bohora stated that the campaign, launched on June 21, will now expand to the grassroots level. From July 21, the party will launch a door-to-door campaign in municipalities, districts, and provinces to gather more public support.
Lamichhane is currently being held at Bhairahawa prison under pre-trial detention in the cooperative scam case. The RSP maintains that the case is politically motivated and has been collecting signatures from political figures, artists, and the general public to protest his detention.
The party plans to set up solidarity desks at key transit points along the Nepal-India border—such as Kakarbhitta, Raxaul, Jogbani, Belahiya, Jamunaha, and Gaddachauki—as well as at major airports, bus parks, and other public locations.
In Rupandehi-3, where a by-election is scheduled, the party announced it would run the campaign in all 36 wards through booth-level outreach.
The RSP also stated that the signature campaign is being conducted abroad as well.
According to the party, Bagmati Province recorded the highest number of signatories with 639,086, followed by Gandaki (439,723), Lumbini (236,595), Koshi (166,861), Sudurpaschim (94,535), Karnali (43,775), Madhesh (20,505), and the central office (33,370). An additional 790,230 signatures were gathered through virtual and other platforms.
RSP also disclosed that it has received Rs. 4.61 million in donations to support the campaign so far, while it has spent around Rs. 5.9 million, incurring a financial deficit, according to leader Bohora.
