In Nepal, President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Along with this, Bishnu Paudal of CPN-UML, Narayan Kazi Shrestha of CPM (Maoist Centre) and Lamichhane of Rashtriya Swatantra Party were sworn in as Deputy Prime Ministers.
Dahal ‘Prachanda’ was on Monday sworn in as the Prime Minister of Nepal for the third time. A day earlier, President Bidya Devi Bhandari had appointed him as the Prime Minister.
A total of eight Union Ministers took the oath of office and secrecy in a special ceremony held at the President’s Office Sheetal Niwas in Kathmandu today. Paudle was appointed as Finance Minister, Shrestha as Infrastructure and Transport Minister and Lamichhane as Home Minister. Other ministers include Jwala Kumari Shah, Damodar Bhandari, Rajendra Rai, and Abdul Khan, who were sworn in without office and secrecy.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that India will have to carefully monitor the developments in Nepal and focus on advancing the overall relationship. His comments come amid apprehensions that China may be at an advantage under the new Nepal government headed by former Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.