Parliament secretariat to study action on lawmaker Shrestha

The federal parliament secretariat has decided to study the action taken against lawmaker Dhaka Kumar Shrestha by his party, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).

RSP had expelled lawmaker Shrestha elected under the proportional category both as party member and lawmaker on April 13.

The parliament secretariat will study whether the dismissal of lawmaker Shrestha by his party was in line with the Act on Political Party, 2073. It will study the matter on Sunday and inform the Speaker accordingly, according to parliament secretariat Spokesperson Ekram Giri.

Whether the RSP has followed the steps to expel lawmaker Shrestha as per Act will be studied well. As per Clause 34, 35 and 36 of the Act, the information on severing ties with the party by the lawmaker or his removal should be given to the parliament, and the Speaker is to read out the notice about it within 15 days of registration at parliament secretariat.

If the parliament is not running, the Speaker can inform the legislature about the lawmaker's ouster by issuing a notice.

On April 13, RSP had sent a letter to the secretariat informing about the action on lawmaker Dhaka Kumar Shrestha.

The Speaker is scheduled to announce to the parliament on April 27 whether the removal of lawmaker Shrestha followed due process, according to the parliament secretariat.

The RSP has already decided to nominate Bindabasini Kansakar as the proportional parliamentarian based on priority list in place of Shrestha.

RSP had taken action against lawmaker Shrestha after the leakage of an audio clip in which he was demanding Rs 20 million from medical entrepreneur Durga Prasain by implicating party leadership.