PM administers oath to DPM, ministers in NPC hall; PM says constitution will be amended

May 2, 2006
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Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala administered the oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and five other ministers at the National Planning Commission hall at Singha Durbar Tuesday afternoon.

This is for the first time the swearing in of ministers has been done outside the Narayanhiti Royal Palace. Traditionally, swearing in of ministers would be done in the presence of the King at the palace.

Five other ministers who took oath from the PM were Home Minister KP Sitaula, Finance Minister Dr Ram Saran Mahat, Minister for Physical Planning and Works Gopal Man Shrestha, Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahanta Thakur and Minister for Land Reforms and Management Prabhuman Narayan Choudhari.

DPM Oli also holds the foreign affairs portfolio. PM Koirala appointed the DPM and the ministers this morning.

Members of the parliament and media persons were present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Addressing the function, PM Koirala said the reconvened House of Representatives would make necessary amendments in the constitution to make the government’s works effective.

He further said the government would work as per the agendas of the seven-party alliance (SPA) and the 12-point understanding signed with the Maoists. The seven-party unity, according to PM Koirala, will remain unbreakable under any circumstance.

Although he didn’t clarify which article/s of the constitution will be amended, the Prime Minister’s statement came in the backdrop of relentless pressure from the SPA activists and the civil society to bring the army under the purview of the parliament, change His Majesty’s Government into ‘Nepal government’ and scrap the Raj Parishad (royal privy council), among others.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Koirala was underway at Singha Durbar until 7:30 this evening.

In another development, CPN (UML) leader and MP Pradeep Gyawali was manhandled by a group or ‘protesters’ at the western entrance of Singha Durbar as he came out of the parliament in the evening.

Our correspondent on the site said Gyawali was roughed up by a group that was chanting slogans against the seven parties, PM Koirala and the King and was demanding ‘unconditional’ constituent assembly.

It was not clear who the protesters were. However, hundreds of pro-democracy activists had carried out a rally earlier in the afternoon, warning the seven-party leaders not to backtrack from their commitments made to the people.