Fact Check: Claims That President And RSP Leaders Are Talking About Restoring The Monarchy Are False

Kathmandu: A Facebook page named Nepal Tas has posted claims that several political figures have said the monarchy could be restored in Nepal. The page claims that President Ramchandra Poudel and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leaders Rajiv Khatri and Dr. Toshima Karki made statements supporting the return of the monarchy. The page has tens of thousands of followers. Thousands of users have reacted to these posts. However, a fact check by TechPana Fact Check confirms that the page has spread false and misleading information by misusing the names of the President and RSP leaders.

Claim 1

On Sunday, January 4, at 4:21 pm, the Nepal Tas Facebook page published a post claiming that Ramchandra Poudel said no one could stop the restoration of the monarchy if the people wanted it. The post also claimed that the President had no negative opinion about King Gyanendra.

As of the time of writing, the post had received more than 3,500 reactions and had been shared 221 times. See the post and screenshot.

Fact Check

A review was conducted to determine whether President Poudel had made any public remarks supporting the monarchy. Such a statement would be highly unusual, as the President is the constitutional guardian of Nepal’s federal democratic republican system. If made, it would have received wide coverage in mainstream media.

No such statement was found. Searches using keywords related to President Poudel and monarchy restoration returned no official or credible news reports.

TechPana contacted Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the President’s Office. He said all official communications from the President’s Office go through him. He confirmed that the President has made no such statement and said the claim is completely misleading. He urged the public not to trust unofficial social media posts.

Claim 2

The Nepal Tas page published another post at 7:55 am on January 5. It claimed, “If the people want, the Rastriya Swatantra Party is ready to bring a king,” attributing the statement to Rajiv Khatri.

The post used Khatri’s photo and added that the party and its leadership were ready to accept the monarchy if the people demanded it. The post received more than 11,000 reactions and over 1,600 shares. See the post and screenshot.

Fact Check

A search for the source of this claim found a video uploaded on December 21 by a Facebook page named About Nepal. The video is 1 minute and 8 seconds long, with highlighted clips at the start. In the video, the interviewer repeatedly presses Khatri on whether the party would accept a monarchy agenda if the people wanted it. Khatri responds in general terms, saying that if all the people want something, it must be accepted. He also says the issue has not been unified.

Later in the video, when asked directly about the need for a monarchy, Khatri says Prithvi Vichar is relevant for Nepal in the context of Prithvi Jayanti. He does not say that the RSP is ready to bring back a king.

In an interview with TechPana, Khatri clarified that his statement was distorted. He said he gave a general answer about respecting public opinion. He confirmed that he did not say the RSP could or would bring back the monarchy.

Claim 3

At 7:59 am on Tuesday, the Nepal Tas page published another post claiming that former Minister of State for Health and RSP leader Toshima Karki said more than 90 percent of RSP leaders want to restore the monarchy.

The post used her photo and claimed she had made the statement confidently. As of the time of writing, the post had received more than 6,700 reactions. See the post and screenshot.

Fact Check

No news report, interview, or official statement was found in which Dr. Toshima Karki made such a claim. On Tuesday afternoon, she publicly denied the claim on social media. She directly named the Nepal Tas page and said the post was false.

She stated that the RSP is a pluralistic democratic party that firmly believes in the federal democratic republican system. She said she and her party are defenders of the republic. She urged the public not to believe statements unless they come directly from her official accounts.

In a conversation with TechPana, she again confirmed that the claim was completely false.

Fact

The claim that President Ramchandra Poudel said the monarchy could be restored if the people wanted it is false. RSP leader Rajiv Khatri did not say that the party would bring back the monarchy. His remarks were taken out of context. Dr. Toshima Karki never said that 90 percent of RSP leaders support restoring the monarchy and has clearly refuted the claim.

Conclusion

All three claims published by the Facebook page Nepal Tas using the names of the President and RSP leaders are misleading and false. President Poudel has made no pro-monarchy remarks. Rajiv Khatri’s statement was misrepresented. In the case of Dr. Toshima Karki, a completely fabricated statement was attributed to her.

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