Submit your Article

President Ram Chandra Paudel has appointed ambassadors to various countries on Sunday. The Head-of-the-State has appointed six resident ambassadors and non-resident ambassadors to various countries in accordance with the Constitution of Nepal, said the Office of the President. The newly-appointed resident ambassadors are Dilli Raj Poudel for Malaysia, Nirmal Raj Kafle for Brazil, Bharat Kumar Regmi for Austria, Milan Raj Tuladhar for the Russian Federation, Prof Dr Ram Swartha Raya for Denmark and Sushil Kumar Lamsal for Egypt. Similarly, the President has designated Paudel as the non-resident ambassador to Brunei Darusalam, Kafle the non-resident ambassador to the Republic of Chile, Regmi the non-resident ambassador to Croatia, Tuladhar the non-resident ambassador to Kazakhstan, Raya the non-resident ambassador to Lithuania and Lamsal the non-resident ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Algeria, the President's Office said.

The CPN-UML lawmakers obstructed the Parliament meeting on Sunday. The main opposition party has demanded that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal furnish clarification over his remarks with the Nepali journalists in India where he had said that Nepal can swap Kalapani and Lipulek with India by providing a route to Phulbari port in Bangladesh. Soon after the commencement of the meeting, UML lawmaker Padam Giri demanded that Prime Minister Dahal give answers in the Parliament on the issue. While taking to journalists during his visit to India, Prime Minister Dahal, who is also the Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center), had said that discussions were also held with the Indian side about the option of swapping the Kalapani area to get land access to Bangladesh. The UML has strongly objected to the remarks of the Prime Minister. The party has warned of not allowing the Parliament to proceed with its business until the Prime Minister gives answer to his remarks. The UML has concluded that the recent visit of Prime Minister Dahal to India was not fruitful.    

The CPN-UML lawmakers have obstructed the Parliament on Sunday arguing that President Ram Chandra Paudel authenticated the Citizenship Bill in an unconstitutional way. UML Chief Whip Padam Giri said that they were forced to obstruct the meeting as President Paudel certified the Citizenship Bill in an unconstitutional way. “We were preparing to discuss the budget presented by the government. But unfortunately, the government breached the Constitution. Millions of Nepalis are facing problems due to lack of citizenship. But the Citizenship Bill should be authenticated constitutionally. The government does not want to follow the Constitution,” he said. Leader Giri said that the certified Citizenship Bill should be kept inactive and should be tabled in the Parliament.  

A meeting of the Parliament has been scheduled for 11 am on Sunday. The meeting to be held in the Parliament building in New Baneshwor will discuss the annual budget of the government. Finance Minister Prakash Saran Mahat had presented the annual budget of the government on May 29. The CPN-UML is preparing to obstruct the Parliament meeting before starting the discussions on the budget. The main opposition is preparing to obstruct the meeting claiming that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, during his four-day visit to India, made a statement against the interest of the country. Prime Minister Dahal had made a controversial statement that the option of giving Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh to India can also be discussed if the direct route to Bangladesh is given to Nepal. He said so while speaking to Nepali journalists in New Delhi on Friday. A Parliamentary Party meeting of the UML held in New Baneshwor on Saturday had decided to seek answers from the Prime Minister in the Parliament regarding the issues like not being able to raise the border problem and discuss the EPG report during his visit to India. Prime Minister Dahal had said that a discussion on the new option has started to resolve the problem of Kalapani. During the government led by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, the Parliament of Nepal amended the Constitution and included Kalapani, Lipulek and Limpiyadhura in its map. The meeting concluded that the recent visit of the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to India was not fruitful, UML Parliamentary Party Chief Whip Padam Giri said.