Pokhara, April 28: Two non-departmental ministers including the newly appointed Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Surendra Pandey have taken the oath of office and secrecy today.
In a ceremony held at the residence of the Gandaki Province Chief Prithviman Gurung administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and the ministers. Provincial Assembly members Sushila Simkhada and Saraswati Aryal Tiwari also took oath as non-departmental ministers.
Simkhada was from CPN (Maoist Centre) and Tiwari from Nepali Congress.
According to the Chief Minister’s office, the expansion of the cabinet and distribution of responsibilities of the newly appointed ministers will be done soon.
Province Chief Gurung appointed Congress Parliamentary Party leader Pandey as the Chief Minister in accordance with Article 168 (2) of the Constitution.
Pandey has become the fourth Chief Minister of the Gandaki Province with the support of 35 members of the Provincial Assembly, including 27 from the Nepali Congress, seven from the Maoist Centre and one from the CPN (Unified Socialist). The newly appointed Chief Minister was elected from Gorkha-2 (2) in the provincial assembly elections held last November.
Chief Minister Pandey, who is also a Congress central member, has been an active figure in politics since his student days. A new joint government was formed in Gandaki after the fall of the CPN (UML)-led government after losing the vote of confidence in the provincial assembly.
