'Move to recall ambassadors not linked with PM's India visit'

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, June 8: The government has made it clear that the decision to recall the ambassadors of 11 countries has no connection with the Prime Minister’s India visit. 

Speaking at a press conference organised to make the Cabinet decision public on Friday, Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said that recalling the ambassadors had become a practice after the change in the government or coalition parties in the government.

Minister Sharma said, "The decision to recall the ambassadors of 11 countries and the India visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ are not connected. Even in the past, the ambassadors were called back as a practice after the change of the coalition partners of the government.”

Minister Sharma said it could be a subject of review as to what is wrong or right. But this is a matter that has been established as a trend since the past, she added. Prime Minister Prachanda is paying a visit to India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Minister Sharma said the decision to recall the envoys was made as per the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Matters regarding its effect could be a topic of further discussion, she said.  

The meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Thursday decided to recall the 11 ambassadors appointed in the quota of the Nepali Congress in the past. 

The Cabinet meeting on Thursday also appointed Dr. Ramesh Prasad Singh as a member of the National Planning Commission.

The Cabinet meeting has also decided to issue a notice in the Nepal Gazette regarding information that some of the specific public services could now also be taken by submitting the National Identification cards issued by the government. The government has decided to issue a notice regarding the official use of national ID in some specific government services in the Nepal Gazette as per the National ID and Civil Registration Act-2019.

The government also decided to issue an order prohibiting strikes in essential services and to publish the notification in the Nepal Gazette in accordance with subsection 1 of sub-section 3 of the Essential Services Act-1957.