Talk of Gagan Thapa's arrest is baseless, says Nepali Congress

The Nepali Congress has said talk that its president, Gagan Thapa, is about to be arrested is completely baseless and fabricated.

The party's general secretary, Pradip Paudel, said after an informal meeting of party office-bearers on Thursday that the ruling side had spread the claim in a planned way to cover up the government's weaknesses and divert public attention.

"If he is to be arrested, the facts and basis must be established," Paudel said. "The party will strongly refute such baseless rumours spread without any basis."

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The rumour spread after Congress leaders claimed plainclothes police had been seen around Thapa's home and contact office. The party said there was no legal basis or evidence for any arrest.

Congress central member Janak Chataut said the arrest talk had been spread by people around Prime Minister Balen Shah. He also described the case of Inam Sapkota, a man described as a middleman in the courts, as propaganda created by the government to hide its failures.

The office-bearers' meeting also reviewed other recent events, including police entering a media house and arresting a journalist, the arrest of Inam Sapkota, and the sudden removal of Dan Bahadur Karki as Inspector General of Police.

The party said these events showed growing government interference in the rule of law, press freedom and professional security bodies. It decided on a strategy for raising the issues in parliament, and said it would speak in one voice on matters of public concern and the defence of the rule of law.

Thapa became president of the Nepali Congress in January this year.