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The 42nd Memorial Day of the first elected Prime Minister, BP Koirala, is being celebrated today by organizing a variety of programs across the country.

Born on Bhadra 24, 1971 BS, Koirala passed away on July 21, 1982. Founder of the Nepali Congress, BP Koirala had also established his fame as a proponent of the principles of 'nationalism, democracy and socialism' and 'national reconciliation'. Koirala became the first elected Prime Minister of Nepal in May, 1959 after the parliamentary elections of 1958.

He has also contributed significantly to the field of Nepali literature. A pioneer of psychological realism in Nepali literature, Koirala has to his credit one and a half dozen works including 'Tin Ghumti', 'Modi Ain', 'Hitler and Jew', 'Sumnima' and 'Narendradai' among others.

During his prime ministership, he pushed forward the land reform program of abolition of birta system and the notion that the tillers should own the land.

On December 15, 1960, after the popularly elected government was overthrown by the then King, Koirala and other leaders were imprisoned in the Singha Durbar. A month later, he was imprisoned in Sundarijal jail along with other leaders.

Koirala, who was released from prison for health reasons in 1968 BS, lived in exile in India for eight years. After analyzing that nationalism weakened while in exile in India and fighting for the restoration of democracy, he returned to Nepal with the policy of national unity and reconciliation on December 30, 1976.

The Sundarijal Prison, where the Prime Minister, Speaker of the Parliament and Ministers of the first elected government were imprisoned, has been transformed into the BP museum. The museum shares a collection of the important things of BP's life. In addition to the important materials of BP's life, the tanker used in the revolution of 2007, the plane of Nepal Airlines Corporation, which was hijacked by the Congress to raise funds for the revolution in 1972, are also kept in the museum.

On the occasion of BP Memorial Day, Nepali Congress, sister organizations and BP Museum Management Committee will organize a variety of events today, said Chief Secretary of the NC Office, Krishna Prasad Paudel.

Likewise, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has organized a program to distribute the BP Koirala National Award at the Prime Minister's Residence in Baluwatar later today.

The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal has decided to give a vote of confidence to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

JSP Nepal's Spokesperson Manish Kumar Suman said that his party had already supported the present government, so it would vote for PM Oli in the trust vote.

"JSP Nepal will give a vote of confidence to PM Oli. The Parliamentary Party meeting will make an official decision in this regard tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," he informed.

CPN-UML Chairman Oli, who was appointed as the PM in accordance with Article 76 (2), is scheduled to seek a vote of confidence on Sunday.

Oli was appointed the PM with the backing of largest political party in the Parliament, Nepali Congress, after Maoist Center Chairman, the outgoing PM, Pushpa Kamal Dahal failed to secure a trust motion in the House of Representatives meeting last Friday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated newly-appointed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

In a congratulatory message sent to PM Oli today, the Indian Prime Minister expressed the confidence that there will be more coordination and collaboration between the two countries.

Prime Minister Modi stated in the message that a strong bond of friendship subsists between the citizens of the two countries due to the centuries-old culture and civilization and the open border they share.

Noting that the two countries have made a significant progress in connectivity and energy, among other sectors, in recent times, the Indian Prime Minister urged his Nepali counterpart for partnership and collaboration in the overall development of both.

"Nepal remains a special and priority partner under India's 'neighbors first' policy. There is a commitment to remain an unwavering partner for achieving economic development as well as prosperity of Nepal, strengthening the partnership on matters of our mutual benefit and charting out a new path," the Indian Prime Minister said in his congratulatory message.

He further said: "Our bilateral partnership will rise further and we are willing to work closely for fulfilling the aspirations of the peoples of the two countries with assurances of collaboration."

The Indian Prime Minister expressed the belief that ties between the two friendly nations will be further strengthened and the collaboration moved ahead in the positive direction by the leadership and experience of the newly-appointed Prime Minister Oli.

US Ambassador to Nepal Dean R. Thompson paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba at the latter's office in Singha Durbar on Friday.

Various aspects of Nepal-US relations including development cooperation, mutual benefit and partnership were discussed on the occasion, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.