The Madhes Provincial Assembly dismissed Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal, after an impeachment motion filed against him was passed by a two-thirds majority. The motion was registered by the opposition party Provincial Assembly members. Speaker Mandal dismissed four opposition party members for failing to attend meetings of the Assembly regularly.
The proposal had been registered on November 13 by 64 lawmakers from seven parties-Nepali Congress, Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Janamat Party, CPN (Maoist Centre), Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, CPN (Unified Socialist), and the Nagarik Unmukti Party. These parties had intensified protests, alleging that Mandal repeatedly acted to protect CPN-UML’s interests and obstructed their participation during critical constitutional proceedings.
Deputy Speaker Babita Raut Ishar announced that the Speaker of Madhesh Province, Ram Chandra Mandal, has been relieved of his post as of today, in accordance with the Provincial Assembly Rules and the Constitution of Nepal. Prior to this, Chief of the Province, Sumitra Subedi was dismissed from her post by the government after she appointed Saroj Kumar Yadav as the Chief Minister of the Province on November 10, administering the oath in a hotel in Bardibas under Article 168(3) of the Constitution.
The appointment has been challenged in the Supreme Court and the petition is currently being heard, while an interim order has been issued asking Yadav not to take any decisions that would have a long-term impact. Subedi has been replaced by Surendra Labh Karna, while the provincial assembly functioning was obstructed by the opposition parties staging protests against alleged illegal appointment of the Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav.
