JANAKPUR: The Appropriation Bill for the fiscal year 2025/26 was tabled in the Madhesh Provincial Assembly on Thursday amidst a boycott by opposition parties.
Only lawmakers from the ruling coalition were present during the session, which continued without any opposition participation.
Finance Minister Sunil Kumar Yadav introduced the proposal for discussion, but the session moved forward without the presence of key opposition forces, including the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal and five other parties, who boycotted the meeting in protest.
The opposition parties have accused the ruling coalition of attempting to pass the provincial budget based on misleading and incomplete documentation.
They claim the government only provided a 461-page budget briefing while trying to get approval for a 755-page “Red Book,” which includes detailed project allocations.
JSP Nepal’s parliamentary party leader Saroj Kumar Yadav claimed that over 8,000 irregularities were identified across 294 pages of the budget document. Calling it a “massive fraud,” he demanded the resignation of Finance Minister Yadav.
“This is a budget full of irregularities. The opposition will not be complicit in such malpractice,” said Yadav during a press briefing. “There’s no point rewriting this budget now. The finance minister must resign, and only after a new minister is appointed should a new budget be presented. Until then, we will continue to boycott the Assembly.”
Despite the boycott, the ruling parties proceeded with the session, drawing criticism from the opposition who argued that such action undermines parliamentary norms and democratic accountability.
On June 15, Finance Minister Yadav had presented a provincial budget of Rs 46.98 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.
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