2004 To 2006
On 7 May 2004, Mr.Thapa resigned due to a street protests staged by the 5 party alliance. Not a single protestor was killed during these violent protests in which public and government properties were vandalized. In his resignation speech to the nation he insisted that he would still play an active role to forge national consensus. Mr. Thapa lead a caretaker government for 25 days as the parties failed to nominate a consensual individual to the post of the Prime Minister.
On the 6th of August 2004, Mr.Thapa made his first public statement after his resignation from the post of the Prime Minister. He publicly criticized some NGO's and figures in the civil society for being sympathetic towards the Maoists. He is critical of the RPP Chairman, Mr. Pashupati Rana for steering the RPP, from its original principles, independence and the democratic status it had achieved. Mr.Thapa challenged the party leadership and announced that he would take every measure to make the party more democratic and independent. Mr. Thapa openly asked the party leadership to call for a Special General Convention. The Special General Convention has not been called till this date.
Mr. Thapa proposed the Broader national Political Conference amomgst all democratic political parties, civil society which aims to give birth to an alternative democratic force in the country against the threat posed by the new Maoist government.
Rastriya Janshakti Party (RJP) emerged out of a split in the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, as Thapa left RPP on November 4, 2004. Thapa had been a founder of RPP in 1990. On November 19, 2004, Thapa and his followers opened a 'contact office' in Balutwar, Kathmandu, to organise a broad political conference and coordinate the construction of a new party. The RJP was founded on March 13, 2005. The 'broad political conference' was, however, postponed due to the imposition of Emergency rule by King Gyanendra on February 1, 2005.
RJP had expressed differences with King Gyanendra after the February 1, 2005 coup, over issues like political appointments in the local administrations. RJP accused the King of eliminating the forces working for constitutional monarchy, through his political actions. At the time, RJP tried to profile itself as a centrist party, in between positions advocating direct monarchical rule and republic.
RJP boycotted the 2006 municipal election.
During the Loktantra Andolan, the RJP suggested that the King Gyanendra would initiate talks with 'constitutional forces'.When the King was stripped of his political powers by the interim parliament, RJP did not object.In November 2006, the Prajatantrik Nepal Party led by Keshar Bahadur Bista merged into RJP. Bista became general secretary of RJP
Ahead of the Constituent Assembly election, RJP had proposed having a mixed election system, with 75 district representatives and 230 members elected through proportional representation. The party also proposed constituting an 'Ethnic Assembly' as the upper house of parliament.
Read more about this topic: Surya Bahadur Thapa