A verbal war between the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) led to the obstruction of the House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday.

It all started with UML lawmaker Yogesh Bhattarai describing the decade-long Maoist insurgency as “violence”.

Addressing the House meeting on August 28, UML Secretary Bhattarai said the Maoist insurgency was “unfortunate”, and Nepal’s hydropower sector would have progressed long ago had several electricity infrastructures not been destroyed by then-rebel Maoists during the insurgency.

Maoist lawmakers had promptly objected to his statement claiming that terming the “people’s war” as “violence” is disrespecting the constitution. They had demanded expunging the word from parliamentary records. They allowed the House to function only after Speaker Devraj Ghimire’s assurance to take necessary decisions after study.

On Wednesday, Speaker Ghimire made an announcement, declaring that the term “violence” was not an unparliamentary word. During Wednesday’s meeting, Speaker Ghimire clarified that the word ‘violence’ does not qualify to be termed unparliamentary based on the parliamentary regulations 2022, the discussions held during the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the lower house on September 3, and the opinion of the secretariat. Therefore, it would not be removed from the official record, he said.

He also urged the lawmakers to be mindful of their language while addressing the House. “Figurative words used in speeches often spark debates. I urge everyone to be more careful in choosing their words,” Speaker Ghimire said.

Speaking in the House after the Speaker’s announcement, Hit Raj Pandey, the Maoist Centre chief whip, said that since the Constitution of Nepal mentions people’s war, terming it “violence” was unconstitutional. “Should the language used in the Parliament be in line with the constitution?” he asked, saying the Speaker’s decision was biassed.

Also addressing the House, Devendra Paudel, the Maoist Centre secretary, said labelling their people’s war as violence was intended to undermine the movement.

However, UML lawmakers came in defence of Bhattarai’s statement and the Speaker’s decision. “The Comprehensive Peace Accord signed by the Maoists uses the word violence. It is not unparliamentary,” said Mahesh Bartaula, the UML chief whip.

Lawmakers from the ruling party claimed that the Maoists were demonstrating unparliamentary behaviour by rejecting the Speaker's ruling.

Infuriated Maoist lawmakers resorted to obstruction, chanting slogans against the Speaker. As they continued to ignore Ghimire’s appeal to allow the House to function, he deferred the meeting till Sunday.

The lower house was scheduled to endorse the bill relating to legislation management on Wednesday. Presentation of the annual reports of different constitutional commissions was another task slated for the day.

The verbal sparring between the two communist parties has become a regular feature, after the UML joined hands with the Nepali Congress to oust Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Maoist Centre chairperson, from the government. Oli replaced Dahal as the prime minister with support from the Congress on July 15.

Reinforcing Bhattarai’s comment, UML chair Oli on Saturday warned the Maoist Centre, urging the party to stop glorifying the “violence” of their decade-long insurgency. He stressed the need for the Maoist leadership to shift their focus to national development.

“If the Maoist war was great, why did they abandon it?” Oli had said. “Why did they join the peace process? If people’s war was great then it should have been successful but it was not. Later the peaceful movement became successful."

Similarly, Dahal has been warning that the incumbent government was treading an authoritarian path inviting a Bangladesh-like situation here. The continuous protest ousted Sheikh Hasina Wazed as Bangladesh prime minister last month.