The Madhesh Provincial Assembly has been postponed until further notice following disruption on Friday, after opposition lawmakers chanted slogans against what they call a deeply flawed and opaque budget process.

The assembly’s sitting had barely begun when opposition members rose from their seats, beating tables in protest.

CPN (Maoist Centre) lawmaker Jawaharlal Kushwaha accused the government of pushing through an “unfair” budget dominated by middlemen and riddled with irregularities.

“The budget-making process has violated financial discipline,” Kushwaha said amid an uproar. “That is why we have demanded the finance minister’s resignation. Until that happens, we will continue to obstruct the assembly.”

The assembly floor quickly descended into chaos, forcing Speaker Saroj Yadav to suspend proceedings until further notice.

Ruling party lawmakers, however, leapt to the defence of the government. Nepali Congress legislator Kumarkant Jha accused the opposition of avoiding dialogue.

“Disagreements can be resolved through talks,” he said. “But the opposition is choosing confrontation. Without constructive engagement, there can be no solution.”

At the heart of the dispute lies a controversy over the budget documents. While the government initially tabled a 461-page “red book”, a subsequent task force discovered that the actual version extended to 755 pages.

Opposition parties have since demanded that only the 461-page version be recognised, with the additional pages and their projects scrapped altogether.

Tensions have been simmering since the government passed the annual budget in the absence of opposition lawmakers earlier this month, further fuelling mistrust between the two sides.

For many in the province, the suspension of the assembly reflects a deeper frustration with the governance process itself. As the impasse drags on, questions over transparency, accountability, and the role of political bargaining loom large over the Madhesh provincial government’s ability to move forward.