The CA secretariat in its statement issued by General Secretary Manohar Prasad Bhattarai has said the lawmakers´ membership was scrapped as per the suggestions from the parliament´s Business Advisory Committee (BAC) and based on the findings of a panel formed to study the issue. [break]
The CA had formed a panel headed by lawmaker Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani of Rashtriya Janashakti Party (RJP) to study the matter and give recommendations to the CA secretariat.
"We had studied various legal as well as other aspects in connection with their defection and submitted a report with findings to CA Chairman Subas Nembang," Lohani told Republica. "The chairman is the one who took the decision based on the findings."
Lohani said the panel didn´t clearly suggest as to whether or not to annul their membership as there were contradictory legal provisions.
Both Mainali and Limbu had applied to register new parliamentary parties at the CA secretariat as per the Anti-defection Act that allows any leader who commands 40 percent of the lawmakers in his/her party to register a new parliamentary party.
Mainali is the only lawmaker elected from CREP in the CA, while Libmu is one of the total two lawmakers elected from FDNF in the 601-seat CA.
While applying to register a new parliamentary party at the CA secretariat, Mainali had claimed that his parliamentary party took the decision to form a new parliamentary party in consensus. Likewise, Limbu had claimed that 50 percent of his parliamentary party stood in favor of his proposal to form a new parliamentary party.
But a member of the panel said preferring anonymity that their application for registering new parliamentary party in the secretariat was not valid.
"When they were expelled from their respective parties´ central committees, the Anti-defection Act was inoperative," he said. The law became operative later in March 17, 2010 only after updating it in line with the proclamation of republic in the country.
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