Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Indira Giri has lost her seat in the Sudurpashchim Province Assembly as the intra-party feud in the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) intensifies.
Sudurpashchim Province Assembly Speaker Bhim Bhandari published a notice on Monday, notifying that the NUP leader Giri has been relieved of her position in the provincial assembly.
NUP Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha wrote to the provincial assembly secretariat on April 4, stating that Giri had been expelled from the party.
Giri was serving as the Minister for State for Land Management and Cooperatives of the Sudurpashchim Province Government.
Shrestha took action against Giri as she had joined the cabinet of former Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah. When the party sought clarification from her for joining the government against the party’s decision, she had refused to provide clarification.
Shrestha and NUP patron Reshamlal Chaudhary have differences over joining the government and forming an alliance with other parties. While Shrestha is in favor of joining hands with the Maoist Center, Chaudhary supports the Nepali Congress. Interestingly, Shrestha and Chaudhary are married to each other. Leaders of the two factions exchanged blows at a party meeting in Kathmandu last week.
NUP, however, has not taken action against its four other assembly members who were also in Shah’s cabinet. Ghanashyam Chaudhary, Rameshwar Chaudhary, Laxman Kishor Chaudhary, and Khushiram Dagaura were serving in Shah’s cabinet.
Shah tendered his resignation three days ago after it became certain that he wouldn’t be able to secure a majority in the provincial assembly. His government fell into the minority after CPN (Maoist Center) withdrew its support.
