The third largest party on Sunday appointed Lama in place of Sambhu Paswan Hajari, whose Proportional Representation CA membership was scrapped by the Supreme Court as he had not resigned as a member of the National Dalit Commission.

Maoist leaders said the party made a mistake by appointing a person who was dragged into a controversy after media brought to light his involvement in possessing multiple citizenships, passports and involvement in murky activities. Sources requesting anonymity suspect Lama to have paid a hefty amount to secure the post.

Maoist leaders argue that Hajari’s replacement should have been from the Madhes region. In a statement on Tuesday, Maoist leader Prabhu Sah said the appointment exposes the party’s discriminatory policy against “Madhes and Dalit community”. “There has not been any discussion in the party about his appointment,” said Sah.

Sah is considered a right hand of senior leader Baburam Bhattarai in the Madhes constituency. However, Bhattarai has defended on Twitter the party’s decision. He said the appointment was a trivial issue. “There are conspiracies to revive the 1990 constitution. Lama’s case is small,” said Bhattarai.

After widespread criticisms, including on social media, the Maoist party dismissed the charges against Lama. “He has already received a clean chit in the passport issue after a government investigation,” Maoist spokesman Dina Nath Sharma said in a statement.

Lama, who became the state minister for finance in 2011 in the government led

by UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal, was sacked within a few days of appointment. He joined the Maoist party before the second CA election. Though the government formed a panel to investigate charges against him, its report has not been made public.