Nepal PM to seek 3rd vote of confidence on Wed
US offers aid to Nepal to end peace process
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ is planning to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament by March 13, days after he forged a new alliance with the CPN-UML.
The third round of vote of confidence comes after Prachanda, a former guerilla leader, dumped the Nepali Congress and forged a new alliance with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) – the second-biggest party – led by former premier KP Sharma Oli on Monday.
According to constitutional provisions, prime ministers have to take a vote of confidence after any ally withdraws support. PM Prachanda informally discussed the matter within his close circle in the party on Saturday and the parliamentary party meeting of the CPN-Maoist Centre decided to issue a whip to all of its lawmakers to be present compulsorily in the Lower House during the voting on March 13, according to the party’s secretary Ganesh Shah.
PM expands cabinet by adding 2 new ministers
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Sunday expanded his Cabinet for a second time by inducting two new members, days after dumping the Nepali Congress and forging a new alliance with the CPN-UML. Prachanda inducted senior Madhesi leader and chairman of the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Upendra Yadav as the minister for population and health and Koshor Shah, also from JSP, as minister for forest. With this, the number of ministers, in the Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister Prachanda, has reached 22. Yadav along with Shah took the oath of office and secrecy.
KATHMANDU: The US ambassador to Nepal met with the newly-appointed foreign minister and finance minister and expressed the Biden administration’s willingness to provide assistance to complete the ongoing peace process in Nepal. Ambassador Dean R Thompson met with Deputy PM and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Finance Minister Barshaman Pun at Singhdurbar Secretariat separately and held discussions on the timely completion of the development projects operating in Nepal with US assistance. They held discussions on matters relating to bilateral interests, FAM spokesperson Amrit Bahadur Rai said.