Kathmandu, Oct 1 : The use of ‘until the investigation’ included in the resignation letter rendered by Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara today has been deemed inappropriate from the constitutional point of view.
Mahara has resigned from his post following an accusation of misconduct by a staff of the federal parliament. According to the Article 91(6) of the Cconstitution of Nepal, the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives shall become vacant if the Speaker or Deputy Speaker renders resignation in writing.
Nepal Communist Party (NCP) parliamentary party’s Deputy Leader Subash Nembang said that the wordings in the resignation letter do not hold huge significance once the Speaker and Deputy Speaker render resignation in writing.
Mahara, in a resignation letter written by him addressing the Deputy Speaker, has said that he resigned from the post on the moral grounds and to facilitate the investigation in a free, fair and impartial manner. “We hold a clear viewpoint that if any NCP cadres and leaders commit any wrongdoings or crimes, that individual in particular shall be held responsible not the party.”
The meeting of the NCP Secretariat that convened earlier today had suggested Mahara to render resignation from the post of Speaker after NCP Chairmen Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” inquired Mahara about the accusation.
Auditor General Agni Prasad Kharel, responding to the query of media persons, said, “The culprit, irrespective of who s/he is, shall be held accountable for the laws breached and the crimes committed. The laws shall apply to everyone evenly.”
Sources say that the NCP Secretariat meeting had concluded that if the incident was not addressed rightly on time, it could exaggerate further. Mahara had offered resignation through his personal secretary Sagar KC to the Secretariat of Deputy Speaker.
Police have also courted criticism with regard to their performance for not paying due attention for protecting the crime scene and the evidences collected from the place where the incident took place.
Metropolitan Police Office, Ranipokhari Chief Shailesh Thapa however refuted the criticism. Thapa said that police had acquired all the information from the victim and had taken the incident as a sensitive case once the information on the incident was brought to the notice of police.
He shared that the video sketch of the crime scene was made and the broken pieces of spectacle, alcohol bottle and shoe among other things allegedly used in the crime scene have been secured.
