The CPN-UML and the Rastriya Swatantra Party on Tuesday obstructed the meeting of the House of Representatives, protesting against a provision in the budget to scrap district election offices.

Soon after the commencement of the House meeting, Santosh Pariyar, chief whip of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, demanded the provision be amended.

The government, through its budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024, had announced that the district election offices would be scrapped and the election-related work would be conducted by a small unit at the respective district administration offices.

The Election Commission has been objecting to the announcement, arguing that bringing the district election offices under the district administration offices will undermine its autonomy.

Likewise, UML lawmaker Surya Thapa demanded that the Speaker rule on the issues and stated that the meeting would not proceed until the ‘mistake’ was corrected.

The meeting was postponed following the obstruction.