KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 13
An all-party meeting called by Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota to end the stalemate in the House of Representatives caused by disruption of House proceedings by CPN- UML lawmakers ended inconclusively after UML boycotted the meeting.
Rastriya Janamorcha lawmaker Durga Paudel, who attended the all-party meeting, said Sapkota told the meeting that he phoned UML leaders today to remind them of the all-party meeting but their phones were switched off.
Paudel said UML leaders should attend the meeting and seek a negotiated settlement of the impasse in the House. She said dialogue was the only way out and UML leaders should be ready for holding dialogue to end the current deadlock in the House. Paudel said that representatives of the parties suggested that Sapkota should call another all-party meeting and ensure UML's participation.
UML lawmakers have been obstructing House proceedings, accusing Sapkota of aiding the split in their party by not confirming the expulsion of 14 UML lawmakers, including Madhav Kumar Nepal, who split the UML and formed a new party -- CPN (Unified Socialist).
UML lawmaker Khagaraj Adhikari said his party did not take part in the all-party meeting because Sapkota, who was supposed to hold talks with the PM and his party Chair KP Sharma Oli called representatives of all the parties. "We are protesting against the speaker's discriminatory behaviour and even our party chair went to the well of the House to protest against his decision.
Sapkota should talk to Oli to find a solution. Why should he call all the parties to discuss the issue?" Adhikari wondered. He said that Sapkota should not let Nepal and 13 other lawmakers act as lawmakers since they had been expelled by his party.
"If Nepal and other UML lawmakers who had been expelled by the party were allowed to remain as lawmakers then the same should happen with four CPN-Maoist Centre lawmakers, including Ram Bahadur Thapa," he argued.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 14 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
