KATHMANDU: Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) Krishna Bahadur Mahara has resigned following accusations of sexual assault and harassment reported in the Nepali press.

Disgraced Mahara – a former leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) – has, however, denied the allegations, calling them derogatory and unfounded.

His resignation came shortly after online portals and newspapers published reports of the ‘rape’ allegation by a woman — a staff at the federal parliament secretariat on Sunday.

“I have decided to resign on moral grounds until the investigation process is concluded to pave the way towards free and fair investigation on the issue,” Mahara said in a letter addressed to Deputy Speaker of the federal Parliament this afternoon.

He, however, has said that he would cooperate in the investigation process.

Earlier today, a meeting of the NCP top brass – Prime Minister K P Oli and party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal — held at the Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar had suggested it would be judicious for Speaker Mahara to step down on moral grounds.

Likewise, a meeting of the party secretariat on Tuesday afternoon had also instructed Mahara to quit both as the Speaker of the Federal Parliament and as a lawmaker.

Mahara was elected from Dang constituency-2 under the first-past-the-post electoral system to the Federal Parliament.

The woman alleged Speaker Mahara of coming at her rented apartment at Tinkune in an inebriated condition at around eight in the evening on Sunday when she was alone and raped her.

According to her, Mahara came to her apartment with a bottle of whiskey when her husband was out of town.

Mahara has also been alleged to keeping his security personnel downstairs.

Meanwhile, soon after the incident came to fore, the Nepal Police on Sunday had briefed the Home Ministry about the allegations against the Speaker.

She said Mahara phoned her to tell her that he was coming to meet her. According to her, Mahara forced her to drink whiskey.

The woman then dragged Mahara out of her apartment, and called the police.

Meanwhile, a team from the Metropolitan Police Circle, New Baneshwor reached the apartment, clicked photographs of the room with scattered clothes, a bottle of whiskey and glasses, she has claimed.

The next day, as she claimed, Mahara texted her asking her not to expose the incident.

Speaker Mahara’s secretariat issued a statement on Monday evening dubbing the allegations against Mahara ‘baseless’.

The statement claims that the allegations are a part of ‘well-planned conspiracy’ to defame the Speaker.