March 5, Hetauda – The Bagmati Provincial government has decided to convene the Provincial Assembly meeting after a hiatus of seven months. In a cabinet meeting held on Sunday, the Council of Ministers resolved to recommend to Provincial Chief Deepak Prasad Devkota to summon the budget session of the Provincial Assembly on March 7, Tuesday.
Prabhat Tamang, spokesperson for the provincial government and Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, confirmed the calling of the Assembly session. According to protocol, the Provincial Chief convenes the session upon the government’s recommendation.
The provincial government is currently engaged in preparation for the budget for the fiscal year 2079/80 (2022/23). The last session of the Bagmati Provincial Assembly was held on September 2, 2025, which ended under extraordinary circumstances amid protests. After the Janjati (indigenous peoples and Janajati) movement, the government was unable to hold further meetings, but concluded the 16th Assembly session on November 18. The Assembly Secretariat’s legal officer, Prakash Chapagain, reported that this particular session included only 24 meetings.
Due to damage caused by vandalism and arson during the Janjati protests, the Provincial Assembly hall was severely compromised. As a result, the meetings will be conducted in the hall constructed inside the Office of the Chief Minister located within Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City Ward No. 2. This hall itself was also damaged during the protests, but has since been repaired through maintenance work costing nearly NPR 20 million.
Meanwhile, the vacancy in the Speaker position of the Bagmati Provincial Assembly has created uncertainty, as the ruling party coalition remains divided on a consensus candidate. Legal provisions require that a Speaker be elected within 15 days of the Assembly’s commencement, and the government is preparing accordingly. The Nepali Congress, the leading party, recently decided in a parliamentary party meeting to stake a claim to the Speaker’s position. The coalition partner, Nepal Communist Party (NCP) UML, has also claimed the post, while the main opposition party, the NCP, maintains its stance that it should fill the position.
The Speaker Bhuwan Kumar Pathak resigned via social media on September 9 amid the height of the Janjati protests, and on September 26, he formally submitted his resignation letter to Deputy Speaker Apsara Chapagain, creating the vacancy. Pathak was appointed Speaker from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) based on party power-sharing arrangements, while Deputy Speaker Chapagain belongs to the UML party.
