KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 22
Janamat Party legislator Goma Labh Sapkota has saved her parliamentary seat after Speaker Devraj Ghimire today refused to remove Sapkota's lawmaker position, as requested by the party.
Janamat Party president CK Raut had written to the Federal Parliament Secretariat for the third time to invalidate Sapkota's membership in the House of Representatives (HoR), accusing that she demanded money from a contractor, and had begun discussions about splitting the party.
However, Speaker Ghimire has refused to expel her, citing that the party's disciplinary action against Sapkota was not of the nature that would result in her removal from the position, and it does not meet the provision of the act relating to political parties.
Sapkota, on the other hand, has been denying the allegations levelled against her.
Raut previously filed with the Lower House 84 pages of documents requesting Sapkota's removal, but Speaker Ghimire has expressed concerns over the documents submitted for her expulsion.
His decision emphasises that simply arranging documents is insufficient to take action against someone; evidence demonstrating that the person in question made mistakes is required.
The Secretariat previously stated in a letter to the Janamat Party that the action against Sapkota appears to be erroneous prima facie on the basis of the law and procedures outlined in Section 32 of the Political Parties Act, and that the action against her cannot be pursued while ignoring the erroneous act.
According to the letter, the processes outlined in Sections 32, Subsections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, as well as Section 38 of the Political Parties Act, do not appear to be complete. "Hence, the Speaker decided that it is not essential to issue a notice regarding scrapping Sapkota from the MP position," stated the secretariat.
Lawmaker Sapkota had requested Speaker Ghimire to save her post, saying even the clarification said to be hers was fake after the party sent the letter seeking her removal.
Janamat appointed Sapkota, a resident of Mahottari Rural Municipality-3, Mahottari, as a lawmaker through the Proportional Representation electoral system.
Meanwhile, Lawmaker Sapkota has also claimed that she disagreed with the party over the appointment of a personal assistant and that the party punished her for this.
She claimed that party president CK Raut had told her from the start that she could not appoint a personal secretary on her own and must appoint someone recommended by the party.
Following a disagreement over the issue, she was threatened with legal action and removal from her position as a legislator, according to Sapkota.
Sapkota stated that she initially appointed Samir Kumar Jha from the party as her personal secretary before replacing him with Ashok Sah on the party's recommendation. Sapkota explained that she then appointed Mansi Jha as her personal secretary because Sah never contacted her.
