The Samajbadi Party Nepal is preparing to suspend lawmaker Sarita Giri for violating the party whip to withdraw her amendment registered at the Parliament Secretariat against the government’s second amendment to the constitution.

The amendment, which aimed to update the new map of the country on the national emblem, was unanimously endorsed by the lower house on Saturday. 

Giri's amendment had sought to retain the old map in the national emblem as there was no evidence to claim Lipmiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani as part of Nepal, she had argued.

Speaker Sapkota, however, decided to scrap her proposal, as per Clause 112 of the House of Representatives’ regulations, which say that any amendment to a bill cannot contradict the primary spirit of the bill itself. Giri boycotted the House after the Speaker announced that her amendment proposal had been scrapped.

“Our party will begin the process of suspending Sarita Giri after the two chairs, Baburam Bhattarai and Upendra Yadav, return to Kathmandu,” said Bishwodeep Pandey, a Samajbadi party leader. “Giri will also be removed as a general member of the party.”

Giri represents the Samajbadi Party in the House of Representative as Proportional Representation candidate from the Khas-Arya quota.

Party insiders said that as soon as she refused to abide by the party whip, she was no longer a Samajbadi Party lawmaker.

The party’s chief whip Uma Shankar Argariya had issued a whip directing Giri to withdraw the proposal as the party had decided to vote in favour of the government’s amendment bill.

All 258 Members of Parliament who were present at Saturday’s House meeting voted in favour of the bill, endorsing the new map of Nepal, which depicts Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limipiyadhura as Nepali territories.