KATHMANDU: Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara has resigned from his post following an accusation of rape by a staff of the federal parliament secretariat, until the end of investigation. The secretariat of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) had met earlier today and decided that Mahara should resign from the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives. Spokesperson of the ruling party, Narayan Kaji Shrestha told THT Online that the secretariat meeting held earlier today has decided that Mahara will stepdown from the post of Speaker to facilitate investigation following the accusation. Additionally, Mahara will no longer remain a Member of Parliament. 'In a bid to facilitate factual, fair and independent investigation into allegations levelled at my character, I hereby submit my resignation on moral grounds until the end of the investigation process,' Mahara said in a press statement issued this afternoon. The news of rape surfaced after hamrokura.com published a report on September 30, where the woman has accused Mahara of raping her in her own residence. The victim (whose identity has not been disclosed) said that Mahara came to her rented apartment located at Tinkune in an inebriated state on Sunday evening and raped her. Meanwhile, the press advisor of Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Dilli Malla, had released a press release on Monday, rebutting the allegation. READ ALSO:

• UPDATED: NCP (NCP) Secretariat decides on Speaker’s resignation