Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor Harka Sampang has criticized the agreement signed between Rastriya Swatantra Party Chair Rabi Lamichhane and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah, alleging that the deal serves to institutionalize foreign interference in Nepal.
Sampang made the remarks in a video message posted on Facebook early Sunday, shortly after Lamichhane and Shah signed the agreement. In his statement, Sampang accused Shah of aligning with Lamichhane for power and position, claiming the move would place the country under foreign influence.
“Who is the person ready to sell the country into foreign hands for power and office by aligning with those involved in cooperative scandals and those preparing agendas like the MCC?” Sampang said. “We have already directly experienced foreign interference. You have likely already identified who that person is who hides while trying to institutionalize it.”
Sampang further alleged that Shah had incited members of the Gen Z generation to take part in street protests while remaining in hiding even as hundreds were injured and the country faced widespread unrest.
“That person stays hidden inside, watches silently, and smiles. He lacks the courage to come out. Even when Gen Z calls for pressure on the government, he does not appear. Instead, he stays inside and plays games to form governments of his choosing through foreign-backed arrangements,” Sampang said.
According to Sampang, the government formed through such arrangements addressed none of the demands raised by the Gen Z movement, except for holding an election. He alleged that the state instead resorted to suppressing the movement.
Sampang said the time had come for Nepalis to raise serious questions. “Why was Gen Z incited? After inciting Gen Z, why was Singha Durbar set on fire? After so many were killed or injured, why did those leaders not even attend the funerals? Why did they watch the chaos silently? Why was foreign interference brought so deeply into the country? Why attempt to turn the nation into ashes and then profit from those ashes?” he said.
Alongside the video, Sampang has continued to post statements on Facebook criticizing the alliance between Lamichhane and Shah, repeatedly describing it as foreign manipulation. “Those who claim they will burn Singha Durbar and prove it—be warned. These foreign agents will destroy the country,” he wrote in one post.
In another, he mocked Shah’s prime ministerial ambitions, stating that someone unwilling to face the public should not aspire to lead the government. Following continuous discussions that began at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Lamichhane and Shah signed a formal agreement at around 4 a.m. on Sunday.
Under the agreement, the party’s name, flag, and election symbol will remain those of the Rastriya Swatantra Party. In the upcoming election, the party will present Shah as its prime ministerial candidate, while party leadership will remain with Lamichhane.
