K P Sharma Oli sworn in as Nepal Prime Minister; retains previous Cabinet
Kathmandu: K P Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal's Prime Minister on Friday, days after he lost a crucial vote of confidence in Parliament.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Oli, 69, as the 43rd prime minister of Nepal at a ceremony at Shital Niwas, the presidential palace.
Oli was appointed as prime minister by the president in his capacity as leader of the largest political party in Nepal's House of Representatives.
He was reappointed to the post on Thursday night as the Opposition parties failed to secure majority seats in Parliament to form a new government.
Oli, the Chairman of CPN-UML, lost a crucial trust vote in the House of Representatives on Monday.
Oli will now have to take a vote of confidence at the House within 30 days, failing which, an attempt to form a government under Article 76 (5) of the Constitution would be initiated.
The ministers of Oli's Cabinet were also sworn in during the ceremony.
During the oath-taking ceremony, Prime Minister Oli and Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel did not mention the word God though President Bhandari had mentioned it.
I will take oath in the name of the country and the people, Oli said, while President Bhandari had mentioned God, country and the people.
All the ministers and ministers of state from the old Cabinet have been included in the new Cabinet.
Pradeep Gyawali has been reappointed as Foreign Minister while Ram Bahadur Thapa and Bishnu Poudyal were appointed as ministers for Home and Finance. The oath-taking ceremony was kept brief keeping in mind the raging COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun and Supreme Court Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana were among the distinguished personalities who attended the ceremony.
There are 22 ministers and three ministers of state in the new Cabinet.
Oli previously served as prime minister from October 11, 2015 to August 3, 2016 and again from February 15, 2018 to May 13, 2021.
Earlier, the president had asked the Opposition parties to come up with the support of majority lawmakers to form a new government by 9 pm on Thursday after Oli lost the vote of confidence in the House on Monday.
Until Thursday, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who got backing from CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal "Prachanda" was hopeful to get sufficient votes in the House to stake his claim as the next Prime Minister.
But as Madhav Kumar Nepal took a U-turn after his last-minute meeting with Oli, Deuba's dream to become the next Prime Minister was shattered.
The CPN-UML of Prime Minister Oli is the largest party with 121 seats in the 271-member House of Representatives.
At present 136 votes are needed to form a majority government.
If the parties fail to form a new government in line with Article 76 (5) or the Prime Minister elected under this provision does not secure the vote of confidence again, the sitting Prime Minister can recommend the President to dissolve Parliament and announce the date to hold general elections within the next six months.
Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 last year after President Bhandari dissolved the House and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, amidst a tussle for power within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
Oli's move to dissolve the House sparked protests from a large section of the NCP led by his rival 'Prachanda'.
In February, the apex court reinstated the dissolved House, in a setback to Oli who was preparing for snap polls.
As parliamentary politics is rife with number games, Nepal grapples with shortages of medical supplies, mismanagement of the situation by the state, spiking infections and fatalities amid the raging second wave of the pandemic.
The country is currently witnessing more than 9,000 new COVID-19 cases daily.
Nepal's more than 40 districts, including three districts of Kathmandu Valley, are under prohibitory orders for the past two weeks as the second wave of infection has hit the country.
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32 airports shut for civilian flight operations till May 15: DGCA
New Delhi, May 9 (PTI): Thirty-two airports across northern and western parts of the country, including Srinagar and Amritsar, have been closed for civilian flight operations till May 15, according to the civil aviation regulator.
The decision, announced early Saturday, comes in view of the military conflict between India and Pakistan that continued unabated since India's May 7 strikes on terror camps and Pakistan's subsequent shelling of border areas.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and relevant aviation authorities have issued a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) announcing the temporary closure of 32 airports across northern and western India for all civil flight operations.
The closure will be effective from "May 9, 2025, to May 14, 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025), due to operational reasons," DGCA said in a release.
The airports include Adhampur, Ambala, Amritsar, Awantipur, Bathinda, Bhuj, Bikaner, Chandigarh, Halwara, Hindon, and Jammu.
Other airports are Jaisalmer, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Kandla, Kangra (Gaggal), Keshod, Kishangarh, Kullu Manali (Bhuntar), and Leh, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Ludhiana, Mundra, Naliya, Pathankot, Patiala, Porbandar, Rajkot (Hirasar), Sarsawa, Shimla, Srinagar, Thoise and Uttarlai are the remaining airports to be shut, the release said.
Earlier, at least 24 airports had been ordered shut for civilian flight operations till May 10.
Meanwhile, the AAI has extended the temporary closure of 25 segments of Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes within the Delhi and Mumbai Flight Information Regions (FIRs) due to "operational reasons."
"The 25 route segments will remain unavailable from ground level to unlimited altitude until 2359 UTC on 14th May 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025)," DGCA said.
Because of the closure of these segments, the regulator has advised airlines and flight operators to plan alternate routes.
The temporary closure is being managed in coordination with relevant ATC units to ensure safety and minimise disruption, it added.
On April 30, India shut its airspace for Pakistan airlines as part of retaliatory measures in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
On April 24, Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian carriers.
On Friday, Air India in a post on X said that due to the continued closure of multiple airports in India, its flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot were being cancelled till 5.29 am on May 15.
In a post on X, IndiGo said all flights to and from 10 destinations will remain cancelled until May 15 same time.
An armed conflict rages on between India and Pakistan following India's strike on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK) under Operation Sindoor early Wednesday in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre.
#TravelAdvisory
— Air India (@airindia) May 9, 2025
Following a notification from aviation authorities on continued closure of multiple airports in India, Air India flights to and from the following stations – Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot – are being cancelled till…
#6ETravelAdvisory: In line with the latest directives, the flights to/from the following cities will remain cancelled until 0529 hrs on 15th May. We’re here to help you. Check flight status https://t.co/rpnOvAOxQl To rebook or claim a refund, visit https://t.co/t9jVUTnmxZ pic.twitter.com/y16QBpZ4R9
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) May 9, 2025
