Kathmandu: In less than two months after his failure to defend the position of Rastriya Prajatantra Party chairperson, Kamal Thapa, a self-declared Hindu leader and former Deputy Prime Minister, has rejoined Rastriya Prajatantra Party – Nepal as chairperson.
Kamal Thapa had hinted at forming a new party after losing to Rajendra Lingden in the party’s general convention in December.
On 11 March 2020, he had taken oath in the name of Bhagavad Geeta that he would not let the Rastriya Prajatantra Party split again. But he could not keep his promises.
On 8 February 2022, he announced he’d quit the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). He apparently was not satisfied with the leadership change in the RPP. The party’s general convention, held in December 2021, had elected Rajendra Lingden as its new chairperson. Thapa lost the position to Lingden by 200 votes.
It appeared Thapa had also lost his temper. Following his defeat, Thapa took to social media to put the blame for his loss on Gyanendra Shah, the defenestrated former monarch.
In March last year, two political parties championing the restoration of monarchy and declaration of Nepal as the Hindu state—Rashtriya Prajatantra Party-United and Rashtriya Prajatantra Party—had merged as a single political entity.
The merger was announced in the presence of hundreds of party leaders and cadres during a program held in the capital on 11 March. The two parties had united four years after an attempt to unify pro Hindu forces collapsed due to power tussles among the top leaders.
RPP-Nepal was registered at the Election Commission even after the unification of RPP as a single political party. It was chaired by Lakpa Tamang.
The conservative political forces with the root of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party have endured multiple splits since Nepal became a federal republic.
Moral questions galore
In Hinduism, Bhagavad Geeta is considered a holy scripture. Following Thapa’s decision to quit RPP, many Nepalis have taken to social media to question his Hindu credentials. How a true Hindu could breach the oath taken in the name of Geeta—this seems to be the subject of curiosity among many.
“An open suggestion to Kamal Thapa. Those who have sworn by Geeta must apologize to all Hindus,” demands Twitter user @DearPuskar39. “The holy scripture has been insulted.”
The conservative political forces with the root of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party have endured multiple splits since Nepal became a federal republic.
Another Twitter user, @legends1_never, takes an aphoristic stance. “Just as a fish can’t live without water, Kamal Thapa can’t live without position,” the user deadpanned in an emoji-heavy tweet. “After breaking his bones in the scuffle with Rajendra Lingden, Thapa kicked out the infantile Lakpa Tamang to capture the chair.”
Yet another user, @SomBikramSingh1, writes, “Those who believe that a leader making false promises to a holy scripture like Geeta and insulting Vedic Sanatan would establish a Hindu party are the same as him.”
Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal leader Dambar Khatiwada, too, has jumped on the tweet bandwagon. “This is the difference between a true Hindu and those who do politics of Hindutwa,” Khatiwada tweets. “A true Hindu would never engage in a politics of religion. Those who do make a mockery of Geeta when presented with an opportune moment.”
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