report in The Himalayan Times, Jan 20, 2023 at 11:05 amOne week after assuming the post of chief minister in Sudurpaschim Province, Rajendra Rawal is struggling to expand his Cabinet. Rawal, who appointed two portfolio-less ministers during his swearing-in as head of the province government, has failed to assign any ministerial portfolios to the ministers inducted thus far. CM Rawal is said to be deliberating an expansion only after the confidence-vote and directions from the…
Posts published in “Nepal”
by Tika R Pradhan in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 20, 2023The leaders of Nepali Congress, the largest party in the House of Representatives, did not take kindly to their then-ally Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chair of the CPN (Maoist Centre), joining hands with the CPN-UML to become prime minister on December 25. Since then, the party has been trying to divide the new UML-led seven-party alliance that elected Dahal the prime minister and also formed governments…
report in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 19, 2023The Pushpa Kamal Dahal government has reintroduced the diplomatic code of conduct that was unveiled in 2011.A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday decided to enforce the diplomatic code of conduct and make it mandatory for all ministers to follow while meeting with foreign diplomats and representatives of foreign governments, should invite the officials of the foreign ministry, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Poudel. The…
by Nishan Khatiwada in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 19, 2023Rastriya Swatantra Party bargaining for, and clinching positions such as deputy prime minister and state minister, has courted criticisms from intelligentsia and experts. In the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Rastriya Swatantra Party got four ministerial berths including a state minister and a deputy prime minister. Experts termed both positions as liabilities to the state as they lack a unique role and clearly…
by Prithvi Man Shrestha in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 19, 2023 As a Chinese technical team started a feasibility study for the proposed Kerung-Kathmandu cross-border railway, India has almost completed a detailed feasibility study for the Raxaul-Kathmandu Railway project, officials at the Department of Railways said. The two projects highlight the geopolitical rivalry between the two neighbouring giants who are competing for influence in Nepal. In late December, a six-member Chinese team representing the China…
by Tika R Pradhan in Kathmandu Post, Jan 17, 2023A month after CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal got appointed as prime minister, top leaders of the ruling coalition have agreed on ministerial allocations. With this development the Dahal-led Cabinet will be expanded on Tuesday. A meeting of the chiefs of four ruling parties—the CPN (Maoist Centre), the CPN-UML, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), and the Janata Samajbadi Party…
by Purushottam Poudel in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 16, 2023As top leaders from the two major ruling coalition partners—the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre)—seemed to be harbouring suspicion at each other, some leaders from the parties, however, have said that the relations between the two sides haven’t worsened as perceived in the public. Leaders of the CPN-UML, the largest partner in the ruling coalition, smelt a rat mainly after the Nepali Congress, which was…
by Tika R Prdhan in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 15, 2023Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s statement on Saturday that he would consult the Nepali Congress on the elections of the President and the Speaker has created confusion among the coalition partners. Dahal’s statement, which he made while meeting a group of editors at Baluwatar, comes at a time that leaders of CPN-UML, his major coalition partner, are increasingly suspicious of the Congress’ decision to give…
by Nishan Khatiwada in The Kathmandu Post, .January 14th, 2023Even though all seven provincial assemblies have elected their chief ministers who are now busy picking ministers, people appear more curious about the composition of the new Cabinet in the Madhesh province. That is so for a number of reasons. First, there has been a significant change in the power equation in Madhesh after the November 20 polls with previously dominant regional forces losing ground and…
by Tika R Pradhan in The Kathmandu Post, .January 14th, 2023 Three days after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal won a vote of confidence in Parliament with an overwhelming majority and three weeks after his appointment as prime minister, Dahal is still struggling to expand his Cabinet by bringing all the coalition partners on board. The abrupt U-turn of the largest party in Parliament, the Nepali Congress, to give Dahal the vote of trust, according…