Rabi Lamichhane at Congress convention: Government won't fall; defeat us at polls if we fail

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane claimed that the current government led by Prime Minister Balen Shah will not fall. Addressing the opening session of the Nepali Congress's 15th convention at Khula Manch in Kathmandu on Sunday, he remarked that those who said the government would fall would faint and collapse upon seeing that it had not.

Lamichhane said elections, not agitation, are the only constitutional option for changing the government. He said no party needs to take on the responsibility of protecting democracy, and that if there is a threat, the people themselves will protect it. He urged that if the RSP fails to deliver what the public expects within five years, people should defeat it at the next election.

Lamichhane said the Congress's greatest strength is its long political history, adding that had the Congress given timely opportunities to loyalty to the party, proportional representation and young leadership, he could also have become a Congress member. He said democracy should not be misused to save or to ensnare individuals.

Targeting former president Sher Bahadur Deuba, he advised Congress President Gagan Thapa that it would be better to leave alone those grumbling within the party rather than trying to persuade them. In reply, Thapa said the Congress had made a big investment in the RSP.