KATHMANDU: Fourteen Bagmati Provincial Assembly members from the Bahadur Singh Lama faction of the Nepali Congress have decided not to support newly appointed Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya in his confidence vote unless a prior gentleman’s agreement, made in the presence of party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, is implemented.
The provincial assembly is scheduled to meet at 4 pm on Tuesday, when CM Baniya will table his proposal to secure the assembly’s trust. However, Lama’s supporters are currently holding internal discussions in Kathmandu and are firm in their stance that they will not back Baniya until ministers appointed by former CM Lama on July 29 are reinstated.
Before stepping down, Lama had appointed Govinda Lamsal as Minister for Internal Affairs and Law, Maya Shrestha as Minister for Youth and Sports, and Gita Gurung as Minister for Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation. Lama’s faction claims that during a meeting at Deuba’s residence in Budhanilkantha—before Baniya assumed office—it was agreed that these ministers would be sworn in again under Baniya’s leadership.
“This is an internal matter. Both Lama and Baniya are our respected leaders. We simply want the agreement made before the party president to be honoured. If that happens, we will immediately support the CM,” provincial lawmaker Gita Gurung told Khabarhub.
Baniya, who also heads the Nepali Congress in Bagmati Province, was appointed chief minister on August 4 with the backing of 64 members from the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML. He now faces his mandatory confidence vote within 30 days of taking office, as required by law.
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