CPN-UML will move the Supreme Court (SC) against Speaker Agni Sapkota for not implementing the party's decision to expel 14 House of Representatives (HoR) members.
UML Chief Whip Bishal Bhatatrai confirmed with Setopati that the case will be lodged making even the Election Commission a defendant. "The Election Commission has recognized verification by 10 central members we had expelled. We believe they should not have been recognized," he added.
Speaker Sapkota had sent a letter to the Election Commission informing that UML has 121 HoR members and 33 National Assembly members despite the party writing to him about expulsion of 14 HoR members.
UML had expelled 14 HoR members of the Khanal-Nepal faction including Madhav Kumar Nepal on August 17 accusing them of trying to split the party. The faction subsequently applied for registration of a new party the next day with the Election Commission.
The lawmakers expelled from the House included Nepal, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Mukunda Neupane, Ram Kumari Jhakri, Kalyani Khadka, Laxmi Kumari Chaudhary, Nira Devi Jairu, Pushpa Kumari Karna, Sarala Yadav, Kalila Khatun, Birodh Khatiwada, Krishna Lal Maharjan, Bhawani Khapung and Met Mani Chaudhary.
UML lawmakers then put pressure on Sapkota to implement the decision by issuing notice about their expulsion but to no avail even as Nepal and other expelled lawmakers registered a new party in accordance to the ordinance brought to make splitting of parties easier.
The act about political parties requires the speaker to implement expulsion of lawmakers by issuing notice about expulsion within 15 days. But Speaker Sapkota sat on the letter sent by UML about expulsion of 14 lawmakers including Madhav Kumar Nepal for 13 days and then decided to not implement the decision pointing that the Election Commission has already registered a new party under Nepal.
