KATHMANDU: The Janamat Party has taken disciplinary action against one of its senior leaders, Vice Chairperson Deepak Kumar Sah, suspending him from all party positions for six months, effective March 27.
This marks the second instance in quick succession where the party has moved against its own leaders. About a month ago, the party suspended its National Treasurer Surendra Narayan Yadav on similar disciplinary grounds. The party had sought written explanations from both leaders. Yadav was suspended on March 5, while Sah submitted his clarification on March 11.
The suspension letter, bearing the signatures of disciplinary committee coordinator Narendra Prasad Chaudhary and member secretary Anita Kumari Mandal, outlines a series of serious allegations against Sah. Among the most prominent charges is that Sah allegedly orchestrated a social media campaign against the party leadership, including commissioning and sharing critical posts on platforms like Facebook. The letter claims Sah actively engaged with content hostile to the party leadership, even extending gratitude to critics of the organization. Furthermore, he has been accused of granting interviews to media outlets where he reportedly made statements undermining the party and its chairperson.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the party’s action against him, Sah, on April 1, filed an appeal, requesting revocation of disciplinary action. “At no point have I acted against the interests of the public, the party or its chairperson,” Sah stated in his appeal, claiming that supporting or opposing particular views falls within individual rights. He said the charges against him were entirely baseless, imaginary and part of a broader conspiracy to sideline him.
Sah also said the party has engineered the departure of many leaders from the party on the direct order of Chairperson CK Raut. “Though the party entered national politics by using selflessly committed activists since the days of the Independent Madhesh Alliance as its foundation, most leaders have either been compelled to quit the party or subjected to disciplinary actions—effectively attempting to turn them into slaves—under Dr Raut’s arbitrary orders, ” Sah wrote in his appeal.
The personal nature of the conflict becomes particularly evident in Sah’s revelation of an alleged threatening phone call from Raut in September last year. He claims that the chairperson used ethnically charged language and explicitly warned, “You will be ruined.”
The conflict takes an even more personal turn with allegations regarding interference in the chairperson’s family matters. The party has accused Sah and his wife of inappropriate involvement in Chairperson Raut’s marital disputes.
Responding to the charges, Sah explained that his wife merely acted as an intermediary when Raut’s estranged spouse sought assistance in returning to Kathmandu from India. According to Sah’s account, it was Raut himself who facilitated his wife’s travel arrangements, while any legal actions were initiated independently by Raut’s wife.
“Since Raut’s divorce proceedings are already before the courts, the party’s use of official letterhead to seek clarifications about personal matters constitutes improper interference in judicial processes,” Sah said in his clarification.
Recently, Chairperson Raut sought an explanation from Madhesh Province Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh over unauthorized cabinet expansions. He accused Singh of not working in the interests of the party and not coordinating with him during cabinet expansion.
