Kathmandu: Secretariat of House of Representatives of Federal Parliament on Monday suspended former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane from the post of member of parliament, citing that a case has been filed against him at the District Court of Kaski on charge of organized crime, cooperative fraud and money laundering. Issuing a statement on Monday, the secretariat said that Lamichhane’s post would remain under suspension until the court resolves the case.
Lamichhane, the chair of Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), was elected MP in federal parliament twice from Chitwan-2.
In 2022 election, he received 49,261 votes and defeated his competitor NC’s Umesh Shrestha by a margin of 34,162 votes. He won the by-election from the same constituency with 54,176—with over 5000 votes more from the previous election.
There, however, is a precedent of suspension decision of the parliament secretariat being revoked by the Supreme Court of Nepal.
In March, 2024, the apex court revoked the decision of Parliament Secretariat to suspend Nepali Congress lawmaker Tek Bahadur Gurung, whom the special court had convicted of corruption. The secretariat had suspended Gurung because corruption case against him was sub judice at the Special Court.
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