POKHARA: Rajeev Gurung, widely known as Deepak Manange, resigned from his position following a recent shake-up in the Gandaki Province government.
On Monday, Manange, who was previously the Minister of Physical Infrastructure, was transferred to the Forest Ministry.
This move was intended to persuade the CPN-UML to join the government, as Chief Minister Surendraraj Pandey hoped to bring them on board by offering this position.
However, Manange expressed his dissatisfaction with the transfer, stating, “I don’t want to go to the Ministry of Forestry; that ministry should have been given to my younger brothers!”
Consequently, he submitted his resignation letter to the Chief Minister through his assistant.
The Physical Ministry, which Manange previously handled, has now been assigned to Prakash Bahadur KC of the UML.
Following the restructuring, Chief Minister Pandey expanded the cabinet to nine members, retaining Phanindra Devkota of the Nepal Samajwadi Party and independent MP Rajeev Gurung.
Despite this expansion, Gurung chose to resign, citing the lack of a dynamic ministry as a primary reason.
The UML had initially requested that Devkota and Gurung be allocated to Nepali Congress quotas when they were appointed.
However, Pandey’s decision to split the ministries was aimed at satisfying UML’s demands while also retaining Manange and Devkota.
Manange’s resignation has highlighted the ongoing tensions and challenges within the provincial government.
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