KATHMANDU, April 9: The CPN (Maoist Center) has taken disciplinary action against Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, who is also a member of the National Assembly, as he decided to stay in the CPN–UML following the Supreme Court’s March 7 order to revive the Maoist Center and the UML.

According to Dinanath Sharma, the CPN (MC)’s party leader in the upper house, a letter was sent to the federal parliament secretariat earlier on Friday informing it about the decision taken by the party’s central committee earlier this week.

Thapa’s position as the upper house member will remain vacant after either the chairman of the upper house of parliament reads out the notice in the upcoming meeting or through a notice published by the parliament secretariat in the next 15 days as per the Political Party Act-2017.

Meanwhile, the Maoist party also sought a clarification from another upper house member, Chandra Bahadur Khadka. “Khadka has been asked to furnish a clarification in 24 hours,” Sharma added. 

CPN (MC) earlier suspended four leaders - Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Lekhraj Bhatta, Prabhu Sah and Gaurishankar Chaudhary - as the lawmakers of the lower house of parliament. Reading out a notice in Thursday's parliament meeting, Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota said that the four ministers had been relieved of their positions as lawmakers upon the recommendation of their party, the CPN (Maoist Center). They were also discharging their responsibilities as the ministers of different portfolios. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, however, is reappointing them as per Article 78 (1) of the constitution.

 
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