Madhesh ministries padlocked since Nov 9 as political crisis deepens

JANAKPURDHAM: As ministries in Madhesh Province remained padlocked due to the ongoing protest of the seven-party alliance, government employees have not been able to draw salary for the month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November).

Seven parties in the Madhesh Province Assembly have been protesting the appointment of Saroj Yadav of CPN-UML as the Chief Minister.

Protesters even manhandled some government employees on November 10. This has instilled fear among employees. Because of the padlocking, no work has taken place in any ministry since November 9.

The dispute escalated after outgoing Chief Minister Jitendra Sonal, just ahead of the vote division on his vote of confidence motion on November 8. Then Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari appointed Yadav, the parliamentary leader of the largest party in the province assembly, as the Chief Minister as per Article 168 (3).

After other parties protested, saying that it is still possible to form a government as per Article 168 (2), Bhandari swore in the new chief minister at a hotel in Bardibas early in the morning.

Meanwhile, the attempt to remove Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal, the mistreatment of provincial lawmakers, and the expulsion of five assembly members for missing 10 consecutive meetings have further deepened the political crisis in the province. So much so, Deputy Speaker Babitakumari Raut Ishar convened the provincial assembly session in the open courtyard of the assembly premises.

The seven-party alliance of opposition parties, which had earlier announced protests until Sunday, continued their protest on Tuesday as well. Ram Ashish Yadav, chief whip of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal, one of the protesting parties, said that they devised a protest program till Sunday only as the Supreme Court was expected to deliver its verdict on that day. “But since the apex court rescheduled the hearing, we have continued our peaceful protest. If the verdict comes on Tuesday, we will suspend the protest,” Yadav said. “If the hearing is extended again, we will continue our agitation.”