When the Local Self-Governance Bill was passed by the House of Representatives on 1 Ashwin 2055 BS, Speaker Ram Chandra Paudel was accused by the opposition of not maintaining an impartial role. Not only did they make accusations, but on 7 Ashwin 2055 BS, they also registered an impeachment motion against Speaker Paudel, alleging misconduct in office.

This was also the first time in Nepal’s parliamentary history that an impeachment motion was filed against a Speaker. After the opposition brought the impeachment motion against Paudel, the ruling Congress and UML (Male) also registered a similar motion against Deputy Speaker Lila Shrestha Subba in the Parliament Secretariat on the same day. However, before a decision was reached regarding the motion against her, Deputy Speaker Subba resigned from her position while still presiding over the House of Representatives on 24 Ashwin 2055 BS. After her resignation, on 28 Ashwin 2055 BS, CPN (Male) MP Bhojraj Joshi was elected unopposed as Deputy Speaker. The main opposition party, UML, boycotted the Deputy Speaker election and did not field a candidate.

Joshi was elected unopposed as he was the only candidate. UML, however, continued to demand Speaker Paudel’s resignation. After Deputy Speaker Subba, who was elected from UML, resigned, pressure also mounted on the Speaker. But Paudel was preparing to follow the parliamentary process. Since the opposition did not have enough MPs to remove the Speaker, Paudel was confident that he would not lose his position.

During the discussion on the impeachment motion, on 30 Ashwin 2055 BS, Speaker Paudel responded to the allegations against him in the House of Representatives. After the Speaker’s response, UML MP Khadga Prasad Oli was requested to withdraw the impeachment motion. However, when he refused to withdraw the motion, a vote was held. Before the vote, when Deputy Speaker Joshi asked Oli to withdraw the motion, there was nearly half an hour of objections and points of order between the ruling and opposition parties.

The ruling party appeared quite aggressive. During his response, Speaker Paudel stated that he would abide by the decision of the Parliament and would not bow to pressure. He said, “Democracy is faith and trust; it is based on rules, not strategy. I will not compromise on the values of democracy. Wherever the eternal rules of democracy are threatened, I will not compromise.”

He clarified that after his efforts to pass the Self-Governance Bill by consensus failed, he had to present it to Parliament for a decision. Stating that the majority’s decision must be accepted, Paudel said he had only fulfilled his duty and responsibility. He said that the Speaker should not bow before any leader’s arrogance and ego, and that if one were to resign just because a motion is filed, it would destabilize the parliamentary system. Referring to an ancient episode from the British parliamentary tradition during his response, Paudel said, “In the British Parliament, the Speaker would present MPs’ concerns to the King, and the King would get angry and have the Speaker executed right there.” Citing this, he said that people in Britain used to fear becoming Speaker.

After Paudel’s response failed to satisfy, a vote was held in Parliament on the motion put forward by the opposition. The motion against Paudel was rejected in the vote. In the vote on the Speaker, the proposal received 55 votes in favor and 123 against. Twelve MPs each from the ruling and opposition parties were absent from the vote. To pass an impeachment motion against the Speaker, a two-thirds majority (136 members of the House of Representatives) was required. Those voting in favor of the motion were MPs from UML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepal Sadbhavana Party, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, and Masal. Those voting against the motion were MPs from the ruling Congress, UML (Male), and opposition Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Chand). After the motion was rejected, the long-standing issue of the Parliament and the Self-Governance Bill was resolved in the House of Representatives.