KATHMANDU: One of the three senior leaders of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Prakash Chandra Lohani, has quit the RPP and announced to form a new political party.

Organising a press conference in the Capital, he said he tendered his resignation informing that he would not remain in any position in the party from today.

Before the conference, one of the founding leaders of the party submitted an 11-point letter addressing the party Chairman Kamal Thapa, saying "Being affiliated to the party with the leadership which cannot work for interests of the nation and its people is a betrayal of the nation and its people."

Lohani said he quit the party as the new leadership elected from the unity convention held last month tried to run the party in an authoritarian way.

"Attempts have been made to use the party as a weapon for an individual or a small group," he said, "I completely object to such authoritarian activities."

In particular, Lohani has objected to the recommendation the Chairman made for ambassadorial appointments without any consultation in the party and Thapa's recent decision to join the incumbent Cabinet despite numerous points of disagreements with the Constitution.

"I will be actively involved in the national development, being committed to inclusive nationalism, pluralistic democracy, progressive liberalism, Hindu identity and Parliament-endorsed monarchy and protecting interests and rights of the nation and the people," the letter addressed to Thapa read.

In the convention held in Kathmandu, Lohani had announced to run for the chairmanship against Thapa, but had withdrawn his name at the 11th hour.

Thapa, after the election, had named Lohani, Lokendra Bahadur Chand and Pashupati Shamsher Rana as senior leaders of the party.

He also had been objecting to the provision in the unified party's statute to put the cow as the election symbol of the party.

Lohani had been advocating to establish the plough as the symbol, which the party's Central Committee meeting had recently rejected.