Himal Press 
This combo photo shows suspended treasurer Surendra Narayan Yadav (left), Chairperson CK Raut (center) and suspended Vice Chairperson Deepak Sah.
KATHMANDU: The arrest of suspended treasurer Surendra Narayan Yadav, who was recently disciplined by the party, has sparked turmoil within the Janamat Party.
Lalitpur police took Yadav into custody on Monday on charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust. While the police cite these legal grounds, many within the party allege that Chairperson CK Raut influenced the arrest to settle personal scores.
A few days ago, the Janamat Party had filed a complaint with Lalitpur police, accusing Yadav of refusing to transfer ownership of a house in Imadol, Lalitpur, to the party and of engaging in financial irregularities.
The Imadol house, built with party funds, is registered in the name of Yadav’s wife, Lalitadevi. According to party leaders, another house in Baluwatol in Janakpurdham-8 of Dhanusha—also built using party funds—is also registered in her name.
Janamat Spokesperson Sharad Singh Yadav told Himal Press that suspended treasurer Yadav asked Chairperson Raut to vacate the Janakpur house about three months ago. “Yadav claimed to have invested Rs 2.4 million in the construction of the house in Imadol. The party has already paid him Rs 4 million, including interest. Yet, he has refused to transfer the property to the party,” the spokesperson said.
Some party leaders allege that Chairperson Raut turned against Yadav after he refused to register the house in Imadol in the name of Raut’s brother, Jayakant Raut.
Though Raut and Yadav once enjoyed a close working relationship, tensions reportedly escalated after the 2022 general election, when Raut gave an election ticket to his brother Jayakant instead of Yadav.
Leaders, including Vice Chairperson and Disciplinary Committee Chairperson Deepak Kumar Sah, had protested Raut’s decision. Recently, Raut also took disciplinary action against Sah. Sah claims that Yadav’s arrest is part of a broader pattern of political retribution.
Sah has denounced the arrest, calling for an investigation into financial misconduct, abuse of power and internal conspiracies within the party leadership. He claims that Chairperson Raut’s secretariat did not contribute financially to the construction of the house in Dhanusha, named Madhesh Ashram. According to Sah, the house was built using the personal funds of Yadav and Madhesh Province Assembly member Basanta Kushbaha.
Sah has also demanded an inquiry into the funding and use of a concrete house built in Mahadeva of Saptari, using party funds, as well as alleged corruption in the construction of the Imadol house and the purchase of land in Kathmandu for parking purposes.
The Janamat Party, however, has dismissed Sah’s allegations.
Spokesperson Yadav accused Sah of accepting a Scorpio vehicle and a large sum of money from outside forces to split the party. He further alleged that Sah acted as a political informant, collected money under the pretext of arranging transfers and promotions, encouraged factionalism and conspired against party leadership.
