New National Assembly members sworn in

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 5: Nineteen new members of the National Assembly, the Upper House of the bicameral Federal Parliament, took the oath of office and secrecy on Monday.

They were elected in the elections held on January 25 in all seven provinces.

Vice Chairperson of the National Assembly Urmila Aryal administered the oath to them amid a ceremony organised by the Federal Parliament Secretariate at the Parliament Building in New Baneshwor.

Aryal also presented the National Assembly insignia to the new members. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who is also a member of the NA, was also present on the occasion.    

Among the new members who took the oath, 10 are from the Nepali Congress, five from the CPN-Maoist Centre, two from the CPN (Unified Socialist) and one each from the Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal and the CPN-UML. 

As the ruling coalition that broke on Monday had contested the election by forging an election alliance, they won 18 of the 19 seats while UML candidate Rukmini Koirala was elected from one of the two vacant seats of Koshi Province.

Those who took oath from the Nepali Congress were Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Ananda Prasad Dhungana, Bishnu Devi Pudasaini, Jitjung Basnet, Kiran Babu Shrestha, Padam Bahadur Pariyar, Bishnu Kumari Sapkota, Krishna Bahadur Rokaya, Baldev Bohara and Narayan Datta Bhatta. 

Likewise, Jhakku Prasad Subedi, Shree Krishna Prasad Adhikari, Manarupa Sharma, Bishnu BK and Renu Chanda from the CPN (Maoist Centre) took the oath. 

Ghanashyam Rijal and Sabitri Malla from the CPN (Unified Socialist), Puja Chaudhary from the Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal and Rukmini Koirala from the CPN-UML took the oath. 

One seat of the 59-member National Assembly is still vacant as the President has not appointed in the vacant seat.  

The National Assembly is a permanent House, and one-third of its members are elected every two years. 

After the January 25 election, CPN (Maoist Centre) has emerged as the largest party with 17 members while NC has 16.