Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) has decided to take disciplinary action against its Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha Chaudhary.
A meeting of the party’s Disciplinary Committee held in Kathmandu on Wednesday took the decision, according to a member of the committee.
The Disciplinary Committee decided to take action against her for bypassing the Central Committee meeting and failing to respond to the clarification notice, the member added.
Earlier, a majority of Central Committee members had issued a 24-hour clarification notice to Shrestha.
“The disciplinary action was taken after she failed to respond,” the member told HimalPress over the phone.
Last week, Central Committee members issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Shrestha to convene a meeting of the Central Committee. Instead of calling the meeting, she stepped down temporarily from party responsibility, citing health reasons, and appointed Shiva Bastola of Kaski as the Acting Chairperson.
The decision to appoint Bastola as the acting chairperson, allegedly in violation of the party statute, further deepened internal dispute.
The meeting of the Central Committee members held on Sunday had also decided to convene a National Gathering of the party. The National Gathering is currently underway in Kathmandu. The gathering is expected to appoint the new Chairperson of the party.
Founding Central Committee members and elected people’s representatives from the party are participating in the gathering.
Chairperson Shrestha has also been linked to a bribery case involving land dealings in Pokhara. She is under investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in connection with the case.
An audio recording linked to the alleged bribery deal with then Minister of Federal Affairs and General Administration Rajkumar Gupta also reportedly includes her voice.
Shrestha, however, has denied any involvement in the matter.
