Thirteen days after the CPN-UML’s recommendation to strip 14 of its members of the House of Representatives of their positions, Speaker Agni Sapkota on Sunday decided not to take action against them.

Sapkota said there is no need to dismiss the 14 lawmakers as they have already formed a new party based on the existing law. “As the CPN (Unified Socialist) party has been formed by including the 14 lawmakers in question, there is no need to take the action against them,” Gopal Nath Yogi, secretary of the House of Representatives, told the Post quoting the Speaker’s decision. “The Parliament Secretariat has already received the decision regarding the formation of the CPN (Unified Socialist) from the Election Commission.”

The CPN-UML on August 17 had written to the Parliament Secretariat, asking it to strip 14 lawmakers of the party’s dissident Madhav Nepal faction of their positions. The recommendation was made based on the party’s decision, which said Nepal and 13 members of the lower house were conspiring to split the party. Along with Nepal those recommended for action included Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Mukunda Neupane, Kalyani Khadka, Ram Kumari Jhakri, Laxmi Kumari Chaudhary, Nira Devi Jairu, Pushpa Kumari Karna, Sarala Yadav, Kalila Khatun, Birodh Khatiwada, Krishna Lal Maharjan, Bhawani Khapung and Metmani Chaudhary.

The Speaker had 15 days to act on the UML request. Though the UML made the recommendation for action prior to the Election Commission’s decision to register the new party, the Speaker waited until the commission's decision. The CPN (Unified Socialist) led by Nepal and other leaders was launched on Wednesday. The commission wrote to the Parliament Secretariat about its decision on Friday only.