KATHMANDU: Deputy General Secretary of the Maoist Center, Barshman Pun has demanded the arrest of Nepali Congress Vice President Dhanraj Gurung and CPN-UML Member of Parliament Rishikesh Pokharel, who are implicated in defrauding cooperative savings.
Speaking at a program in Rolpa on Saturday, Pun emphasized that while Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has been arrested for similar allegations, Gurung and Pokharel must not be overlooked.
Pun warned that if the ruling party attempts to grant immunity to Dhanraj and Rishikesh, there would be public protests.
He asserted that justice and investigations conducted by state judges must be impartial, devoid of bias based on party affiliation or personal connections.
“Like Rabi Lamichhane, NC Vice President Dhanraj Gurung and lawmaker Rishikesh Pokharel are also accused,” Pun stated.
“There should be no doubt about it. Whatever was done to Rabi Lamichhane should be done to Dhanraj as well.”
Pokharel, an MP from the Prime Minister’s party, is accused of embezzling Rs 180 million.
Pun argued that if Lamichhane, the chairman of the opposition party, is detained for similar charges, then it would be an act of revenge if Gurung and Pokharel are allowed to escape justice simply because they are affiliated with the ruling party.
Pun reiterated his call for the arrest and investigation of all individuals involved in cooperative fraud, insisting, “The state cannot act differently based on whether someone is influential or not, or whether they are from the ruling party, the opposition, or are an ordinary citizen.” He emphasized that in a democracy, no one is above scrutiny or the law.
Pun also urged RSP Chair Lamichhane to cooperate with the investigation, reminding him that he had been arrested and imprisoned before becoming an MP, and was dismissed by the court in the citizenship case after establishing his party and winning election as an MP.
