In further escalation of the ongoing political stand-off in Madhesh Province, seven parties opposing the government headed by CPN-UML leader Saroj Kumar Yadav convened a provincial assembly meeting on the premises of the Assembly Secretariat on Saturday. They claimed they were locked out of the official chamber by Speaker Ramchandra Mandal.

Deputy-speaker Babita Raut Ishar conducted the meeting outdoors in the presence of around 60 provincial lawmakers. With the assembly hall reportedly padlocked and the key-bearing staff “sent away,” lawmakers sat cross-legged on the ground in a line, while Ishar presided from a plastic chair with a small table before her. A national flag stood beside her seat. The session began with the national anthem.

The Deputy-speaker announced that the alliance of the agitating seven parties would move forward with a motion accusing Speaker Mandal of “conduct unbecoming of his office” and confirmed that the dismissal of five lawmakers—reversed by her earlier this week—remains void.

Speaker Mandal had stripped five Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal and Nagarik Unmukti Party members of their positions, alleging absence from ten consecutive meetings.

Deputy-speaker Ishar claimed to have overturned the decision after reviewing video and photographic evidence showing their participation in deliberations on the chief minister’s vote of confidence.

The assembly secretariat however said the Speaker’s decision to sack the provincial assembly members was already published in the gazette.

The seven parties representing 74 members argue Speaker Mandal acted selectively and in favour of UML interests, repeatedly sidelining opposition voices.

Leaders from the Nepali Congress, Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Janamat Party, CPN (Maoist Centre), Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, CPN (Unified Socialist), and the Nagarik Unmukti Party have jointly filed a motion demanding corrective steps.

They accuse the Speaker of ignoring the Business Advisory Committee decisions and preventing party leaders from using the rostrum during critical proceedings linked to government formation disputes.

The UML denounced Saturday’s open-air sitting, calling it nothing more than a spectacle. But the protesting alliance insists the Speaker forced their hand. “The Deputy-speaker tried to hold the session inside,” said JSP Nepal chief whip Ram Ashish Yadav. “But a lock was put on the chamber, and the officials with the keys were removed from the premises. This is another act of misconduct by the Speaker.”

The political stalemate follows the controversial appointment of Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav, who was sworn in at a hotel in Bardibas on November 10 after then Province Head Sumitra Subedi Bhandari administered the oath citing Article 168(3) of the Constitution. The seven parties claim the appointment undermined due procedure by bypassing negotiations under Article 168(2) and have filed a writ at the Supreme Court.

Protesters gathered near the Janakpur Fishery Centre and marched towards the assembly building but were stopped by heavy police deployment. Meanwhile, newly appointed Province Head Surendra Labh Karna invited parties for an all-party dialogue to ease the deadlock, but the alliance refused to attend, saying they would not participate in any meeting that included Chief Minister Yadav.

In an address, Yadav warned that protests had created “security challenges” for him and Speaker Mandal, suggesting threats were emerging from “agitators, not the people.” He later met security officials for a briefing.

With assembly functions paralysed, legal challenges pending, and rival camps accusing each other of constitutional misconduct, Madhesh’s political impasse shows few signs of immediate resolution.