The political standoff in the Madhesh Provincial Assembly has intensified further, with five lawmakers, who were recently axed, filing a written petition challenging the grounds for their removal. The lawmakers, through a written application sent to the Provincial Secretariat, demanded certified copies of their attendance records for the past year, stating that the Speaker's decision was based on incomplete or inaccurate information.
Sanjay Kumar Yadav and Urmila Devi Singh, lawmakers from Sarlahi, applied on behalf of the group on Friday. Full attendance record and documents of all meetings held at the provincial assembly in the last year are sought through the petition. The concerned lawmakers say that these records must be made available to verify whether or not the Speaker's claim that they were absent for ten consecutive meetings had any merit.
The controversy kicked off on Thursday when Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal announced the removal of five provincial assembly members for allegedly failing to attend ten consecutive assembly sessions. Removed ones include Urmila Devi Singh, Sanjay Kumar Yadav, Manish Kumar Suman, Singhason Sah Kalwar, and Sarda Shankar Prasad Kalwar.
Speaker Mandal said that this was done under assembly rules, which permit removal on the grounds of persistent and unexplained absence. The move immediately sparked an institutional backlash.
Soon after, Deputy Speaker Babita Kumari Raut Ishwar issued her own notice, calling the action the Speaker had taken to be “void” and “invalid,” based on the fact that the Speaker did not follow normal due process and could not unilaterally remove the elected members without formally consulting others first.
This has been an unprecedented clash between the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, which has called into question the interpretation of assembly rules, internal checks and balances, and the broader political alignments influencing provincial governance.
The latest move by the sacked legislators seeks authenticated attendance records, adding a procedural element to the political standoff. If the records contradict the Speaker's claim, it will make him lose much credibility and give a boost to the Deputy Speaker. On the contrary, if the records show consistent absenteeism, then the dismissal might receive legal support despite all the procedural disputes.
The demand for certified copies of the decision also hints that the conflict may spill over into a legal, administrative, or parliamentary review. Observers say the power struggle reflects deeper political tensions within the Madhesh based parties and alliances that are contesting rival claims over key provincial institutions.
As the Secretariat begins the verification and preparation of the requisitioned documents, the provincial assembly enters another phase of uncertainty as both sides prepare to possibly prolong the institutional confrontation.