The scandal where Nepal Maoists allegedly sought Chinese help to buy lawmakers for the PM poll didn't help party's candidate Pushpa Kamal Dahal in the seventh round of voting on Tuesday.
But demand for a probe to find the truth behind the two audio tapes of alleged conversation between
Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara and an unknown 'Chinese friend' has gained momentum.
On Tuesday, ahead of the seventh round of voting to elect a new PM, a delegation of Nepali Congress leaders met Constituent Assembly Chairman Subhash Nemwang and expressed concern at the audio tapes.
The leaders termed the incident a devaluation of the parliament as a lawmaker has been accused of seeking NRs 500 million to bribe lawmakers from other parties in the ongoing prime ministerial election.
A delegation of civil society leaders also met Nemwang seeking postponement of the PM poll till a probe is done on the allegations of Maoists trying to influence the outcome using dubious means.
While the seven round voting was on, members of a youth organization staged a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu and submitted a memorandum seeking investigation into the allegations.
The government has also decided to probe the tape controversy.
"It could be done by a parliamentary panel or a committee appointed by the government," Minister for Information and Communication Shankar Pokharel said.
The audio tapes released ahead of the sixth round of voting on Sunday has embarrassed the Maoist party who has denied any wrong doing and tried to shift the blame to foreign (read Indian) power.