The main opposition CPN-UML has decided to boycott an all-party meeting called by Speaker Agni Sapkota for 2pm on Monday.

“We are not attending the meeting called by the Speaker today as we haven’t in the past too,” said Subas Nembang, deputy leader of the Parliamentary Party. “We will communicate our concerns and position to the Speaker on why we are not attending the meeting.”

The Speaker’s office said on Sunday that he wanted to discuss some contemporary issues, including the continuous obstruction of the House meetings by the UML.

The all-party meeting call followed an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana by 98 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and CPN (Unified Socialist), three key partners in the ruling coalition.

The main opposition UML has been obstructing the House proceedings for the last five months, accusing Speaker Sapkota of failing to act on the party’s decision in August to expel 14 of its lawmakers, who subsequently formed a new party named the CPN (Unified Socialist) under Madhav Nepal. The UML has charged Sapkota with facilitating the formation of a party by lawmakers who were expelled by the party.

The UML in the past too has not attended any meeting called by the Speaker. The main opposition even refused to attend an all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Following the impeachment move by the three key ruling parties, political polarisation is set to deepen further.

The UML has started the meeting of its Parliamentary Party to discuss the impeachment motion against Rana and its further moves.

Nembang told the Post on Sunday that their discussions would be held on whether to file impeachment motions against four other justices whose decision on July 12 last year led to the ouster of UML chair Oli as prime minister.

In the meeting, UML is likely to initiate counter-impeachment motions against at least four more Supreme Court judges who passed a judgement against its party chair and then prime minister KP Sharma Oli’s decision to dissolve the House in May last year.

“We are collecting signatures of our lawmakers and we are in touch with some parties who are against the impeachment motion against Rana,” a UML leader present in the Parliamentary Party meeting, told the Post.

During the party Secretariat meeting on Sunday evening at Oli’s residence, the party decided to oppose the impeachment motion against Rana.

The Rana-led Constitutional Bench had ordered the appointment of Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister saying he had the backing of enough lawmakers including those from the Maoist Centre.