Kathmandu, June 22 -- Nepal's comedy show "Comedy Darbar", broadcast weekly on Prime Television HD, has become embroiled in a censorship controversy after repeated audio bleeps were inserted into a recent episode featuring lawmakers from the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), prompting criticism over restrictions on artistic expression.

The episode, released on Friday through the OSR Reality YouTube channel, featured RSP lawmakers Rajunath Pandey, Jagadish Kharel and Rukesh Ranjit as guests. A debate erupted after viewers noticed that several lines of dialogue had been muted with beep sounds.

At 31 minutes and 22 seconds into the programme, comedians Saroj Bhandari and Sujan Jimba appear on stage portraying the Speaker of the House ...