Tension has flared within the CPN-UML’s Madhes Provincial Parliamentary Party after the newly appointed Chief Minister and ministers were sworn in at a hotel instead of an official venue.
Hari Narayan Mahato, the UML’s chief whip in the Madhes Provincial Assembly, expressed strong dissatisfaction, saying the move has undermined the dignity of both the party and its parliamentary group.
“I was shocked to hear this morning that our party leader was appointed Chief Minister at a hotel,” Mahato told . “Why was it necessary to make such an important appointment at Panas Hotel on the Bardibas–Sindhuli border? This has damaged the reputation of the party and the parliamentary team.”
Mahato added that even if the appointment was made under Article 168(3) of the Constitution, such a decision should have involved discussion within the party. “At the very least, the party and the parliamentary group should have been informed. But we were not told anything,” he said, adding that the matter would now be raised internally.
Appointment and Reactions
Madhes Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari appointed UML parliamentary leader Saroj Kumar Yadav as Chief Minister on Sunday night. Early the next morning, she handed over the appointment letter and administered the oath of office at Panas Hotel near Bardibas.
The same venue was also used for the swearing-in of UML lawmaker Lakhan Das, Socialist Party’s Bimala Ansari, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party’s Kanchan Bichha, who took office as ministers in the new government.
Former Chief Minister Jitendra Sonal strongly criticized the move on social media, describing it as an insult to the identity of Madhes. Sharing a video of the ceremony, Sonal wrote:
“The people of Madhes have been betrayed. Under the pretext of seeking medical treatment, Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari conducted a political act at a hotel on the Sindhuli–Mahottari border that humiliated the spirit of Madhes.” Sonal had personally seen off the province chief when she left Janakpur earlier that day.
Internal Discussions and Implications
UML lawmakers have called for an internal discussion about the incident. Mahato confirmed that the party and the parliamentary group would soon meet to address the issue. The UML currently holds 25 seats in the Madhes Provincial Assembly.
Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal also represents the UML, while another lawmaker, Dipendra Thakur, remains suspended following a corruption case filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) over the construction of a 15-bed hospital in Aurahi Municipality, Dhanusha.
The decision to hold an oath ceremony in a hotel has raised questions about political propriety and constitutional norms in Madhes Province. Observers say such actions could erode public trust and harm the credibility of political institutions in one of Nepal’s most politically sensitive regions.
