JANAKPURDHAM: Just nine days after the Chief of Madhes province was dismissed by the federal government, the Speaker of the Madhes province assembly has also lost his position.

The meeting of the Madhes Provincial Assembly held here on Wednesday dismissed Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal, after an impeachment motion filed against him was passed by a two-thirds majority. The motion was registered by the opposition party PA members, after Speaker Mandal dismissed four opposition party members for failing to attend meetings of the Assembly regularly.

Deputy Speaker Babita Raut Ishar announced that the Speaker of Madhesh Province, Ram Chandra Mandal, has been relieved of his post as of today, in accordance with the Provincial Assembly Rules and the Constitution of Nepal.

Prior to this, Chief of the Province, Sumitra Subedi was dismissed from her post by the government after she appointed Saroj Kumar Yadav as the Chief Minister of the Province, administering the oath in a hotel in Bardibas.

The appointment has been challenged in the Supreme Court and the petition is currently being heard, while an interim order has been issued asking Yadav not to take any decisions that would have a long-term impact.

Subedi has been replaced by Surendra Labh Karna, while the provincial assembly is at loggerheads with the opposition parties staging protests against what they allege, illegal appointment of the Chief Minister.