KATHMANDU: Deepak Manange, the recently appointed Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport in Gandaki Province, took the oath of office and secrecy on Monday afternoon.

His appointment came following a cabinet reshuffle by Gandaki Province Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey.

Province Chief Dilli Raj Bhatta administered the oath to the new minister.

However, notable by their absence were lawmakers from opposition parties CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN-UML, who did not attend the event.