Deputy-speaker of the Madhesh Provincial Assembly Babita Kumari Raut has overturned Speaker Ramchandra Mandal’s decision to dismiss five provincial assembly members.

Speaker Mandal on Thursday had striped provincial lawmakers—Urmila Devi Singh from Nagarik Unmukti Party; Manish Kumar Suman, Sanjay Kumar Yadav, Singhason Sah Kalwar, and Sharada Shankar Prasad Kalwar from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal of their position as assembly members citing their absence in 10 consecutive assembly meetings.

The Speaker took the action after lawmakers filed a motion for “conduct unbecoming of office” against him earlier on Thursday.

Raut ruled the dismissals invalid after reviewing video and photo evidence showing the assembly members’ participation in deliberations on the confidence vote.

Seven parties, representing 74 assembly members, had filed a motion against Speaker Mandal for failing to maintain proper conduct.

Mandal is from the UML, while Raut was elected from the Janamat Party.

Leaders from the Nepali Congress, Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal, Janamat Party, CPN (Maoist Centre), Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP), CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Nagarik Unmukti Party have backed the motion.

In the joint motion, the parties accused Speaker Mandal of repeatedly running the assembly on the instructions of one particular party and of “sidelining opposition lawmakers.”

They also accused him of barring assembly party leaders from using the rostrum, defying the decision of the Business Advisory Committee.

Tension flared up in Madhesh as the then Madhesh Province Head Sumitra Subedi Bhandari, who left Janakpur for Kathmandu at 4 am on Monday citing health reasons, appointed CPN-UML leader Saroj Kumar Yadav as the new chief minister of Madhesh. The new chief minister took oath of office and secrecy in a Bardibas-based hotel.

The seven parties took to the street to protest Yadav’s controversial appointment under Article 168(3), bypassing coalition negotiations under Article 168(2). Separate writ petitions have been filed at the Supreme Court, challenging the appointment.

Speaker Mandal, elected as CPN-UML candidate, has faced criticism for alleged procedural bias and for allowing assembly sessions to proceed without adequate opposition representation.