His Majesty King Gyanendra administered oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala amidst a ceremony at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace Sunday morning.

84-year-old president of Nepali Congress and four-time prime minister entered the Palace in a private care at 10 a.m. and left the palace in an official car with security escort in about 20 minutes. The oath taking ceremony of the newly appointed PM scheduled on Friday had been delayed due to the ill health of Koirala.

Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Poudel, chairman of the Raj Parishad standing committee Parshu Narayan Chaudhary, chief of the army staff of the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) and member of Raj Parishad General Pyar Jung Thapa were also present in the oath taking ceremony.

After administering oath, King Gyanendra stood side-by-side with Koirala for a few seconds in front of TV cameras and then led the frail-looking and weak Koirala to the nearby sofa with royal grace and humility.

As history was in the making, Nepali monarch and premier Koirala exchanged some pleasantries.

Koirala, however, did not take oath of office of Raj Parishad from his former colleague-turned-royalist P. N. Chaudhari. A former general secretary of Nepali Congress, Chaudhari had joined the then Panchayat polity after the referendum of 1980.

Talking to Nepalnews, spokesman of the Nepali Congress, Krishna Sitaula, said Koirala did not take oath of office of Raj Parishad since abolition of Raj Parishad was one of the demands of the Seven Party Alliance.

He said Koirala would assume his duties at the Prime Minister’s Office at Singha Durbar and also deliver a brief speech at the House of Representatives this afternoon.

Koirala had tabled a resolution at the House on Friday– the first day of the reinstated House– saying that the parliament would go towards holding elections for the constitutent assembly.

Discussions on the resolution will kick off at the parliament from 4:00 p. m. on Sunday. nepalnews.com by Apr 30 06