show cause notice to EC on RPP case

Kathmandu Jan 13-In response to a writ petition filed by Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the Appellate Court of Lalitpur has summoned the Election Commission (EC) regarding the claims made by the dissident group of the RPP on the party’s election symbol, among others.

A single bench comprising Chief Judge at the Appellate Court, Rana Bahadur Bam, issued a show cause notice in the name of defendants and asked the Election Commission to present before the court on January 18 to discuss whether an interim order should be issued as demanded by the RPP.

On Thursday, RPP led by Pashupati Shumsher Rana had filed a writ petition at the Appellate Court requesting a prohibitory order against the EC to prevent issuing of the party’s election symbol (plough) to the dissident group led by Home Minister Kamal Thapa.
Over a dozen lawyers including president of Nepal Bar Association, Shambhu Thapa, pleaded on behalf of the petitioners. They argued that Home Minister Thapa had misused government resources to convene so-called special general convention of the party against the party’s statute.

The ‘special convention’ held in Kathmandu early this week announced that it has elected minister Thapa as its new president replacing Rana. The dissident group then approached the EC laying claim on the party’s election symbol.

The RPP led by Rana then had decided to knock the court’s door. Rana dismissed the entire exercise terming it as a deliberate attempt to engineer split in the party

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