Deputy Speaker and Nepali Congress (Democratic) leader Chitra Lekha Yadav, who was appointed as the Minister of Water Resources in the expanded Council of Ministers, has declined the appointment.

She declined the ministerial post saying she was not consulted by the party leadership when it recommended her name in the Cabinet, reports said. Details were not immediately available.

Water Resources is considered on of the ‘high profile’ portfolios.

Yadav had demanded the post of the Speaker in the reinstated House of Representatives but the post later went to CPN (UML) leader Subash Nemwang. Though the seven-party alliance engaged in a tough bargain initially, there was a consensus on Nemwang’s nomination at the end.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala expanded his cabinet today adding 11 new members in his 7-member cabinet.