KATHMANDU: The main opposition party CPN-UML has demanded the resignation of Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) Agni Sapkota.

UML has been accusing Speaker Sapkota of playing a role in the party split. The party has been obstructing the parliament by questioning the role of the speaker.

UML is dissatisfied with the Speaker’s failure to take action against 14 lawmakers, including Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Speaker Sapkota has called an all-party meeting Monday afternoon to run the parliament smoothly.

Meanwhile, the party has also decided not to attend the meeting called by Speaker Sapkota.

UML chief whip Bishal Bhattarai said that they would not attend the meeting convened by the Speaker as the meeting would not give a way out.

Speaker Sapkota has called an all-party meeting for proceeding ahead with the parliament’s duties and functions in an effective way.

The all-party meeting has been convened for 2:30 pm at the Lhotse Hall in the Federal Parliament Building, New Baneshwor, Speaker Sapkota’s media expert Shreedhar Neupane said.

The top leaders of all the political parties representing the Federal Parliament have been urged to attend the meeting.

The parliament has not been able to take up the regular agenda of the meeting due to the obstruction by the main opposition party, the CPN-UML, since the start of the current session of the parliament.

The meeting could not enter the regular business Sunday as well due to the main opposition’s obstruction of the House proceedings.

The Speaker held discussions yesterday with UML Chief Whip Bishal Bhattarai, Whip Shanta Chaudhary, and lawmaker Khaga Raj Adhikari regarding the resumption of the parliament’s business.

However, the meeting ended inconclusively.

Although the meeting of the House of Representatives, the Lower House of the Federal Parliament, started after being suspended for 15 minutes, it could not proceed due to the obstruction by the UML lawmakers.

The meeting has been postponed till September 14. The UML has been obstructing the House saying the lawmakers elected from UML ticket against whom it had recommended action have been allowed to attend the House meetings.