Kathmandu denies RPP permission to stage show of strength at Bhrikutimandap
Kathmandu: The right-wing pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has been refused permission by the District Administration Office (DAO) of Kathmandu to stage a power show on April 8 at Bhrikutimandap, which is close to the administrative capital.
The RPP had asked the district government for permission to stage the demonstration at Bhrikutimandap, which is close to the main entrance to Singhadurbar, the administrative capital.
From the letter that was given to RPP, the DAO wrote, “it is not appropriate to hold a program at Bhrikutimandap at this time due to security concerns, as other protest programs (teachers’ protest, Rastriya Janamorcha programs, and pre-scheduled programs) are also taking place at Bhrikutimandap.”
According to the document released on Sunday night, the right-wing royalist party had applied for the approval on April 4, 2025.
Instead, the local government has recommended that the party have its event in the Balkhu neighborhood, which is just beyond the ring-road region, or Sifal Ground, which is close to the Pashupatinath Temple. Additionally, the District Security Committee consultation informed the decision, according to the DAO in Kathmandu.
The administrative office’s response has not yet been answered by the RPP. The Kathmandu DAO’s decision was made a week after a violent pro-monarch rally in the Tinkune district on March 28, 2025, left two people dead and curfews in place in other locations.
The violent demonstration, which was called by notorious businessman Durga Prasain, extended the violence across Kathmandu. Additionally, the RPP had backed a protest movement that battled with the police, resulting in violence and several injuries on both sides.
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which was founded in the 1990s after the monarchical system’s restriction on political party creation was lifted, has been a constant force in favor of the monarchy ever since. Additionally, it has been voicing its demands and participating in recurring elections.
Out of the 575 seats in the parliament, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has won 8 seats in the Constituent Assembly in 2008, shortly after Nepal’s monarchy was overthrown. It managed to obtain 13 seats in the 2013 election, dropped to one seat in 2017, and then recovered to 14 seats in the 2022 election.
Since its founding, the party has backed the Hindu State and the monarchy as interdependent in the small country that is sandwiched between China and India. According to the 2022 census, 81.19 percent of the 30.55 million people living in the Himalayan nation of Nepal are Hindu.
After the Himalayan nation dissolved its centuries-old constitutional monarchy in 2006, King Gyanendra took control, declared an emergency, and placed all of its leaders under house arrest. In the government’s assault on protesters, the movement—also known as “People’s Movement II”—saw hundreds of people dead.
Gyanendra gave up and restored the dissolved parliament after weeks of violent protests and mounting international pressure; the inauguration of a new democracy is marked by the implementation of Lokantantra (People’s Rule).
