JANAKPURDHAM, Dec 3: The Madhesh Provincial Assembly session scheduled for Wednesday was suspended until 2 PM due to the absence of ruling party members.
Deputy Speaker Babita Kumari Raut convened the session at 8:30 AM, which started two hours late, but had to suspend it after Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav failed to appear.
The session was called after CM Yadav sent a letter to the Provincial Secretariat seeking a vote of confidence. On November 10, the then Madhesh Province Chief, Sumitra Subedi Bhandari, appointed Yadav as Chief Minister at a hotel in Bardibas in Mahottari, recognizing him as the leader of the largest party, UML parliamentary party.
However, seven parties, including the Nepali Congress, challenged Yadav’s appointment as unconstitutional. A total of 74 lawmakers filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking its annulment.
The SC issued a mandamus on Monday directing CM Yadav to seek a vote of confidence from the Madhesh Provincial Assembly within 24 hours. CM Yadav said he received the official order from the Province Chief’s office at 3 PM on Tuesday and sent a letter to the Secretariat requesting arrangements for the confidence vote.