KATHMANDU, APRIL 8

Four lawmakers from the Maoist Centre, who had recently moved to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli led CPN-UML, have been removed from their position of parliamentarians representing CPN-MC.

The CPN-MC, on Tuesday, had lodged a complaint at the Parliament Secretariat that four of its lawmakers, all ministers, had defected to CPN-UML and sought their removal from the Parliament.

Action had been sought against Minister for Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation Top Bahadur Rayamajhi; Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Lekharaj Bhatta; Urban Development Minister Prabhu Sah; and Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gauri Shankar Chaudhary of the federal Cabinet.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Agni Prasad Sapkota, in today's HoR meeting, announced that the four lawmakers had been removed from their parliamentary position.

CPN-MC Parliamentary Party Leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal had written a letter to Secretary General of the Parliament seeking action against the leaders.

Dahal complained that after the nullification of unification between CPN-UML and CPN-MC, the four lawmakers, who were supposed to represent his party, were taking part in the CPN-UML's political programmes and had also accepted to become members of UML's central committee.

As per the constitution, if a representative defects from the mother party, then the post held by them will be automatically deemed vacant from the date the representative quits the mother party.