Rastriya Swatantra Party Chief Ravi Lamichhane Responds to Questions About Jail Release During Gen-Z Movement

Rastriya Swatantra Party (Raswapa) Chairman Ravi Lamichhane faced questions from voters in Chitwan about his role in the release of prisoners during the Gen-Z movement.

During a door-to-door campaign in Chitwan Constituency No. 2 on Monday, voters asked Lamichhane whether he had led the effort to release prisoners after his own exit from Nakhu prison.

One elderly voter asked, “During the Gen-Z movement, you were released from prison, and afterward many other prisoners were also freed. It is widely discussed that you led this. What is the truth?”

In response, Lamichhane said he had already appeared before an inquiry commission led by former Justice Gauribahadur Karki and provided his statement. The commission, he added, would clear him of the allegations.

He explained, “I was the first person to go give a statement regarding the events of the 24th, without implicating anyone else related to the events of the 23rd. I told the commission everything. While in jail, I saw on TV that the chairperson said, ‘This was not done by Ravi Lamichhane.’ That’s what I heard.”

Lamichhane further clarified, “The commission’s report is coming. But I saw the chairperson’s statement while in jail. Being inside five or six iron-barred doors, I had limited access to information. What could someone inside jail do? Yet the blame was placed on me, so I went to give my statement. I have given it. The chairperson has already said that Ravi Lamichhane is not at fault and that he actually protected the jail.”

He also mentioned that statements from the jail authorities support his claim of innocence regarding the allegations.