The Bagmati provincial assembly meeting was postponed soon after it convened on Tuesday.

Speaker Sanu Kumar Shrestha postponed the assembly meeting after the CPN (Maoist Centre) announced to disrupt the meeting, demanding resignation of Chief Minister Dormani Paudel.

The assembly meeting was supposed to decide the no-confidence motion tabled against Paudel. The speaker has postponed the assembly meeting several times ever since a no-trust motion against Paudel was filed at the assembly secretariat on December 25, 2020.

Speaking at the special hour, the Maoist Centre’s parliamentary party leader Salikram Jamarkattel demanded that Paudel resign from the post of chief minister as a no-confidence motion has been filed against him. He said the government should answer the assembly why it issued Rs 5 million budget to Madan Bhandari Foundation and allocated budget on the basis of factional politics. Jamarkattel claimed the government is a failure and in minority now with the tabulation of the no-confidence proposal.

“The government has been unsuccessful in every sector. It is ignoring the directions of various parliamentary committees. We won’t let the assembly meet unless we get answers from the government,” said Jammakattel. He also formally announced the withdrawal of Maoist Centre’s support to the Bagmati provincial government.

Nepali Congress has also criticised the speaker for taking the provincial assembly hostage.

“The speaker should urge the government to answer questions and proceed with the assembly meeting. But it did not happen,” said Congress provincial assembly member Chhiring Dorje Lama.

The assembly meeting has been postponed to Wednesday.