By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Dec. 6: Four political parties representing at the Federal House of Representatives have been eyeing for the post of the Speaker.
The post has remained vacant after former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara tendered his resignation following a sexual harassment allegation against him.
He had quit the post after he was accused of sexually abusing a staff of the Parliament Secretariat. Later he was arrested and now doing his time in Dillibazaar prison.
Interestingly, the ruling parties- Nepal Communist Party (NPC) and Samajwadi Party- are separately claiming the post. Opposition parties-Nepali Congress (NC) and Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) have also their claim for the post.
Speaking at an interaction organised by the Reporters Club on Thursday, NCP Parliamentary Party chief whip Dev Prasad Gurung said his party had claimed for the Speaker’s post on the basis of structure and composition of the political parties.
He, however, said no discussion was held in the NCP Parliamentary Party about the party candidate for the Speaker. “But, our top leaders have held informal talks on the issue,” Gurung said.
Gurung said his party would respect the constitutional provision of electing the Speaker and Deputy Speaker from two separate political parties.
He underlined the urgency of nominating the Speaker as the Constitution did not envisage vacant post of the Speaker.
Gurung underlined the need for summoning the Parliament session at the earliest, and said the Houses would be summoned after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s discharge from the Hospital. He said, “The PM will call a Cabinet meeting to recommend the President to summon the winter House session.”
Ruling Samajwadi Party parliamentary party chief whip Uma Shankar Aragriya said his party had their claim for the Speaker.
“The speaker should be elected from the Madhesi and Aadiwasi communities. The post should be offered to our party,” he said.
He also stressed the need for summoning the parliament session.
Nabindra Raj Joshi, leader of the Nepali Congress, said his party would claim the Speaker’s post. “As the main opposition party, we have our claim for the post,” he said.
Joshi said the ruling NCP was violating the Constitution by electing the Speaker and Deputy Speaker from the same party though the Constitution has clearly provisioned that the Speaker and Deputy Speaker should be from two different parties.
He said the government was not serious to summon the House session.
RJP leader Laxman Lal Karna also said the speaker should be elected by garnering consensus, stating that his party had also its claim for the post.
He also said that the House session should be called at the earliest.