Speaker Agni Sapkota has conducted House meeting amidst obstruction by the main opposition CPN-UML on Tuesday.
UML lawmakers went toward the rostrum chanting slogans immediately after he announced resumption of meeting. But he did not comment anything, and did not request the protesting lawmakers to sit or stop chanting slogans like he did in previous days.
He went ahead to initiate discussion in principle on the budget allocating time to Finance Minister Janardan Sharma to present the motion to start deliberation on Appropriation Bill.
Nepal Workers and Peasants Party lawmaker Prem Suwal was then allotted time to speak on the issue. Suwal opposed the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and Minister Sharma then went to the rostrum to respond. Sharma thanked Suwal for his opinion and gave a brief response even as UML lawmakers continued to chant slogans.
Speaker Sapkota then submitted the motion for deliberation on Appropriation Bill for decision and the motion was passed through majority.
Speaker Sapkota then presented condolence motion on demise of former National Assembly member Rukma Shumsher Rana and the then Constituent Assembly member Man Bahadur Mahato. The protesting UML lawmakers stopped chanting slogans during the period of silence observed for condolence motion.
Speaker Sapkota then informed that the next meeting will be convened at 11 Monday morning.
UML has been obstructing the House in recent days accusing Speaker Sapkota of splitting the party. The main opposition party also boycotted the all-party meeting called by Speaker Agni Sapkota Monday afternoon to end the deadlock.
UML leaders have also been publicly slamming Sapkota with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli even moving the Supreme Court against him. UML demands that Speaker Sapkota should either issue notice about expulsion of the lawmakers or resign.
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.
