Lawmaker Phanindra Devkota barred from entering Provincial Assembly

Published On: June 27, 2024 10:24 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, June 27: Provincial Assembly Member Fanindra Devkota has been barred from entering the Gandaki Provincial Assembly. He was stopped by the Marshals from participating in the meeting of the Provincial Assembly.

Devkota was suspended from his post for “breaching” the whip issued by the Maoist Center under whose election symbol he had won the provincial assembly election. Following his suspension, Devkota filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court (SC). The SC on Monday issued an interim order to allow him to work as a member of the Gandaki Province Assembly after initial hearings on the petition.

According to Devkota, the Supreme Court’s order has already been registered at the Gandaki Province Assembly Secretariat on Wednesday.

“After the SC’s order was registered in the provincial assembly yesterday, I came to the provincial assembly as a member today, met the honorable Speaker and the chief minister and told them that I had come to participate in the provincial assembly meeting, asking them to create the environment for the same. But nobody informed me even after all the members were in. After that, when I tried to get in, the marshals told me to wait for a while. There was no point in arguing with them, so I am waiting here,” he said

On 9th June, 2024, Devkota gave a vote of confidence to Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey against the decision of the Parliamentary Party of the Maoist Center. After the decision, the Maoist Center took action against him on the charge of breaching party whip.

Devkota was suspended from his post after the head of the provincial assembly, Speaker Dhital, read out the decision to have taken action against him as per a recommendation for the same by the Maoist Center on 14th June, 2024.

Devkota, who had won the provincial assembly election on the Maoist Center’s election symbol, stood in support of Chief Minister Pandey claiming that as he was a member of Nepal Socialist Party, and not the Maoist Center, the Maoist whip would not apply to him. A day after giving the vote of confidence to CM Pandey, on 19 June, Devkota was appointed as the provincial Minister of Energy, Water Resources, and Drinking Water.

Devkota had won the elections to the member of Gandaki Provincial Assembly from Gorkha Constituency Number 2(1) on the election symbol of the Maoist Center.