Leaders and cadres from seven dissatisfied political parties in Madhesh Province have begun a sit-in protest against the appointment of the new chief minister.
They have been staging the protest in front of the Madhesh Bhawan since Wednesday morning.
Participants in the sit-in chanted slogans such as “The Constitution must not be violated,” “Dismiss the newly appointed chief minister,” and “Implement Article 168(2) of the Constitution.”
The peaceful sit-in began at Gate No. 2 of the Madhesh Bhawan, with the number of leaders and cadres gradually increasing throughout the day.
On Tuesday, the district chairs of the seven parties in Dhanusha had issued a statement calling on their members to participate in the peaceful protest movement.
Provincial assembly members were also seen participating in the sit-in. The protest began on the roadside but later the participants sat staged the sit-in on the road itself.
The seven parties also protested the police’s baton charge and tear gas use against peaceful demonstrators. Alleging brutal suppression of the protest, they strongly condemned the incident and demanded that the security personnel involved be punished.
The capital of Madhesh province has remained tense since then-province chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari appointed Saroj Kumar Yadav of the CPN-UML, the largest party in the Madhesh Provincial Assembly, as chief minister under Article 168 (3) of the Constitution in the early hours of November 10.
The protesting parties have also called for a boycott of Chief Minister Yadav and his Cabinet members.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yadav left for Kathmandu on Wednesday. Earlier in the morning, he visited those injured in Tuesday’s protest at the provincial hospital and instructed officials to arrange free treatment for them.
Tensions escalated outside the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers at Madhesh Bhawan on Tuesday evening, when Yadav was assuming office. Clashes between police and protestors left at least 21 people injured.
