Leaders from various political parties attending the first national general convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Chitwan district on Sunday noon have furnished a host of suggestions to the party that was established four years ago on this day.
The leaders addressing the inaugural of the party's maiden three-day national convention urged the party to protect the overwhelming public mandate it has received in the recent elects and strengthen internal democracy and take forward its campaign of good-governance agenda effectively/responsibly.
Addressing the gathering, Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Kumar Thapa urged political parties to respect the public mandate and remain free from arrogance and the intoxication of power, saying public trust has repeatedly been undermined throughout history by internal conflicts, leadership ego and abuse of authority.
Thapa took the event as an opportunity to clarify that the NC considers RSP a political competitor rather than an enemy. The leader of the major opposition party said that the opposition would support good initiatives while holding the government accountable.
He also cautioned against disregarding the country’s democratic legacy, stressing that the political achievements of today were built upon decades of struggle, sacrifice and the contributions of earlier generations.
Thapa stressed that the historic struggles, sacrifices and contributions made by earlier generation should not be forgotten by the current generation.
Likewise, former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai viewed the RSP’s rapid rise as a part of a new phase of political transformation in the country and linked it to the broader campaign for alternative politics.
Ruling out the conspiracy theory that external forces were behind the party’s emergence, he claimed that young people seeking justice and change had created this momentum.
Bhattarai said his generation of political leaders had carried Nepal’s political transformation through to republicanism and the promulgation of the Constitution, while the responsibility of advancing good governance and achieving prosperity now rests with a new generation of leaders including the RSP leadership.
CPN-UML leader Pradeep Gyawali observed that the RSP has got a historic responsibility to strengthen democracy and state institutions.
Gyawali suggested that the convention should not only to elect leadership but also to should define a clear political vision, principles and roadmap.
"It is not about where the RSP stands in national politics. What matters more is how it advances constitutionalism, the rule of law, fundamental rights, social justice and the concept of a responsible state," he pointed out.
Likewise, Nepali Communist Party's leader Barshaman Pun said efforts to establish good governance and reform must remain within constitutional and legal boundaries.
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