KATHMANDU, August 2: Four CPN-UML lawmakers in Karnali Province Assembly have lost their positions as lawmakers for breaching party’s whips in the vote of confidence motion held in Karnali Province Assembly.
A joint bench of Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana and Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana on Monday ruled that the four lawmakers who casted votes in favor of CPN (Maoist Center) candidate Mahendra Bahadur Shahi against the party’s whip would be relieved from their positions as lawmakers.
The four lawmakers—Prakash Jwala, Nanda Singh Budha, Amma Bahadur Thapa and Kurma Raj Shahi-- close to senior UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal had voted in favor of Shahi as the intra-party rift between Chairman K P Oli and senior leader Nepal reached its peak.
The UML had earlier relieved the four lawmakers from their positions after they breached the whip issued by the party. However, a single bench of Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana ruled that the action taken by the party’s 10th general convention organizing committee was not valid. Justice Dhungana had issued an interim order to restore their positions.
The joint bench of Chief Justice Rana and Dhungana on Monday maintained that the action taken by the UML’s 10th general convention organizing committee was valid. With this, the posts of four lawmakers close to senior leader Nepal have fallen vacant.