The CPN-UML has sought clarification from two of its lawmakers in the Sudurpaschim Provincial Assembly after they boycotted a meeting called to endorse the provincial budget, while also deciding to remove Dharmaraj Pathak from his position as chair of the Assembly’s Social Development Committee. The party’s action follows the lawmakers’ decision not to attend the budget-passage meeting, which it says violated its directive. Former minister Bir Bahadur Thapa is among the two lawmakers asked to explain his conduct.
Party action after the budget meeting boycott
The clarification notices place the conduct of the two lawmakers under formal scrutiny within the party. The CPN-UML has linked its decision to their absence from the Assembly meeting held to pass the budget, describing the boycott as a breach of the party’s direction during the endorsement process. The party has not, in the information provided, publicly detailed the specific explanations it expects from either lawmaker or what consequences may follow once it considers their responses.
Seeking clarification gives the party an opportunity to ask lawmakers to account for their actions before deciding what further steps, if any, to take. The immediate decision is therefore a demand for explanations, rather than a reported final disciplinary outcome against the two legislators. Thapa, identified as a former minister, is one of those affected. The identity of the other lawmaker was not included in the information available for this report.
The dispute arose around the budget endorsement process, a central item of provincial Assembly business. The lawmakers’ boycott meant that they did not take part in the meeting convened to pass the budget. The party’s stated concern is that their action ran counter to its instruction. The decision to seek explanations focuses attention on the relationship between the party’s direction and the conduct of its members in the provincial legislature.
Pathak removed from committee chair role
Separately, the UML decided to remove Pathak as chair of the Social Development Committee. The move concerns his role leading a parliamentary committee, rather than the clarification notices issued to the two lawmakers over the boycott. The available information does not specify the reason for Pathak’s removal or whether it was directly connected to the same budget-related dispute.
The decisions together mark action by the party involving both lawmakers’ conduct during the budget process and a committee leadership position in the Sudurpaschim Assembly. However, the reported details distinguish the two matters: the clarification requests are explicitly tied to the boycott of the budget-passage meeting, while Pathak’s removal is reported as a separate decision. No further explanation of the committee change was provided in the information available.
The next development in the clarification matter will depend on the responses from the two lawmakers and the party’s consideration of them. For now, the UML has asked the legislators, including Thapa, to explain why they boycotted the meeting, and has decided that Pathak will no longer serve as chair of the Social Development Committee. The actions leave the party’s position on the lawmakers’ explanations, and any further steps it may take, unresolved.
