Kathmandu (TIP): Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will be the ruling Nepali Congress party’s candidate for the post of Prime Minister in the new government after he was elected the parliamentary party leader on Wednesday. The 76-year-old Nepali Congress President, who has served as the prime minister for a record fifth term, defeated his challenger party General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa by 39 votes, officials said. Deuba secured 64 votes, while Thapa could muster only 25 votes, they said. All 89 lawmakers of the party participated in the voting. The win means that Deuba will possibly lead the next government after the Nepali Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the general elections held on November 20 in Nepal. Deuba thanked party lawmakers and said that he will work to create a party free from obstacles. “Everyone helped me win. (pti)
Tag: Sher Bahadur Deuba
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Droupadi Murmu Elected 15th President of India; will be sworn in on July 25
The first Tribal woman , and the second woman to become the President in the Republic’s history
NEW DELHI (TIP): Droupadi Murmu scripted history on Thursday, July 21, by becoming India’s first tribal woman President in the one-sided contest, defeating Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Murmu, 64, won by an overwhelming margin against Sinha after receiving over 64 per cent valid votes in a day-long counting of ballots of MPs and MLAs, comprising the electoral college, to succeed Ram Nath Kovid to become the country’s 15th president. After the end of the counting process that continued for more than 10 hours, returning officer P C Mody declared Murmu as the winner and said that she got 6,76,803 votes against Sinha’s 3,80,177 votes.
She will be the first President to be born after independence and is the youngest to occupy the top post. She is also the first Tribal woman , and the second woman to become the President. Her victory was sealed after the third round itself when the Returning officer announced that Murmu had already received over 53 per cent of the total valid votes even as Ballots from 10 states and Union territories are still being counted. Conceding defeat after the third round of counting, Sinha congratulated Murmu and said every Indian hopes that as the 15th President she functions as the “custodian of the Constitution” without fear or favor. In a statement, Sinha thanked the leaders of the Opposition parties for choosing him as their consensus candidate in this election.
“I also thank all members of the Electoral College who voted for me. I accepted the offer of Opposition parties solely guided by the philosophy of Karma Yoga preached by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita—‘Do your duty without expectation of the fruits thereof’,” Sinha said. “I have performed my duty conscientiously out of my love for my country. The issues I had raised during my campaign remain pertinent,” he said. Immediately after the announcement of the NDA presidential nominee crossing the halfway mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda visited Murmu at her residence here to congratulate her. “India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President!,” Modi tweeted. He congratulated Murmu on being elected to the top Constitutional post.
“Droupadi Murmu Ji’s life, her early struggles, her rich service and her exemplary success motivates each and every Indian. She has emerged as a ray of hope for our citizens, especially the poor, marginalized and the downtrodden,” he said in a series of tweets. The Prime Minister also thanked all MPs and MLAs across party lines who supported her candidature and said her “record victory” augurs well for our democracy.
“Droupadi Murmu Ji has been an outstanding MLA and Minister. She had an excellent tenure as Jharkhand governor. I am certain she will be an outstanding President who will lead from the front and strengthen India’s development journey,” he said. Soon after counting began and she inched towards the halfway mark, celebrations began in her native town of Rairangpur congratulating “Odisha’s daughter”, with folk artists and tribal dancers performing on the streets. Murmu belongs to one of the largest tribal groups in the country, the Santhals.
Traditional dancers celebrate Droupadi Murmu’s victory in the Presidential election at her New Delhi residence on Thursday. Mukesh Aggarwal Murmu’s tribal background not only helped catapult her to the top post, but the BJP by fielding her is also eyeing crucial votes of the ST community in upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which have a significant tribal population, besides the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
This also helped her get the support of a number of independent parties including BJD, YSRCP, AIADMK, TDP, BSP, JDS and SAD, besides opposition’s JMM, Shiv Sena and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party in her victory run.
By nominating her, the BJP is also seeking to get its foothold in Odisha’s tribal-dominated belt, which it has been eyeing ever since it snapped ties with BJD in 2009. Odisha goes to the polls along with the 2024 general elections and so does Andhra Pradesh, where there is a significant tribal population. Murmu had contested the 2014 assembly election from Rairangpur but lost to the BJD candidate. Born on June 20, 1958, in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, she catapulted into the national spotlight after being picked as the ruling NDA’s presidential nominee in the July 18 polls.
It is from Rairangpur that she took her first step up the BJP ladder. She was a councilor in the local Notified Area Council in 1997 and rose to be a minister in Odisha’s BJD-BJP coalition government from 2000 to 2004. In 2015, she was appointed governor of Jharkhand and stayed in the post till 2021. She is an excellent orator in Santhali and Odia languages and has worked extensively to improve infrastructure such as roads and ports in Odisha.
The low-profile Murmu, believed to be deeply spiritual, is a keen practitioner of the meditation techniques of the Brahma Kumaris, a movement she embraced after she lost her husband, two sons, mother and brother in just six years between 2009-2015. Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba has congratulated newly elected President Droupadi Murmu on Twitter. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated Droupadi Murmu on Thursday for emerging victorious in the presidential poll, saying it was a very proud moment for everyone in Odisha. Patnaik said Murmu’s journey from a humble beginning to becoming the first citizen of the country was an inspiring and a shining example of women’s empowerment. Rajnath Singh has congratulated Droupadi Murmu on impressive win in presidential poll, says it’s proof of Indian democracy’s strength.
(Source: Agencies)
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Nepal’s new foreign min wants friendly ties with India, China
Kathmandu (TIP): Nepal’s newly-appointed Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka said on Wednesday that he would work towards maintaining friendly and balanced relations with India and China and forge national consensus with political parties on matters of foreign relations. Khadka, 72, was sworn in as the Minister for Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Khadka in a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Shital Niwas, in the presence of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Talking to reporters after assuming the office, Khadka said he would work towards ensuring friendly, amicable and balanced relations with both the immediate neighbours — India and China. Arguing that the foreign policy of a country is not specific to any political party, the senior Nepali Congress leader said he would work towards forging national consensus with other political parties on matters of foreign relations, a website reported.
He also said the issue of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Agreement would also be resolved, keeping in view the country’s larger interests.
Under the US $500 million MCC programme, the US government would provide grant assistance which would mainly be utilised on strengthening Nepal’s transmission line to facilitate the export of hydro-electricity to India in the near future and also improve the country’s road networks.
Khadka is the fifth minister to be appointed in the Deuba government, which was formed on July 13. With his appointment, there are now seven ministers in the government, including Deuba, and one minister of state. — PTI
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Sher Bahadur Deuba takes oath as Nepal PM for 5th time
Kathmandu (TIP): Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday formally became the country’s Prime Minister for a record fifth time after the Supreme Court’s intervention.
Becoming the Prime Minister of Nepal for the fifth time, the 75-year-old Nepali Congress veteran has to prove his majority in 30 days.
The Supreme Court on Monday overturned Prime Minister KP Oli’s May 21 decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and ordered the appointment of Deuba as PM.
Deuba will face an uphill task because 23 MPs of the Madhav Nepal faction of Oli’s party – CPN-UML — which had provided signatures to the petition against House dissolution have decided to remain with the parent party. If Deuba wins the vote of confidence by August 12, he can remain PM for about a year and a half till the next general elections.
(TNS)
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Questions raised over Nepal Prez impartiality
Kathmandu (TIP): Questioning the impartiality of President Bidya Devi Bhandari in the May 22 dissolution of the House of Representatives, lawyers representing petitioners against the move have argued that her actions make it clear that she didn’t want anybody except KP Sharma Oli as PM. A five-member Constitutional Bench began the hearing , starting with the writ filed by 146 lawmakers backing President Sher Bahadur Deuba’s claim to Prime Ministership. (PTI)
Car bomb blast outside JuD chief’s house kills 3 in Lahore
Lahore (TIP): A powerful car bomb went off outside the house of Mumbai terror attack mastermind and banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed here on June 23, killing at least three persons and injuring over 20 others, the police said.
The blast took place at a police picket outside Saeed’s residence at the BOR Society in Jauhar town.
Inspector General of Police (Punjab) Inam Ghani said there could have been a “major loss” had there been no police picket outside the house of the high-profile personality, referring to Saeed. “Explosive material was installed in the car. There was a police picket outside the high-value target’s house. The car could not cross the police picket,” Ghani said, describing it as a “terror” act.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has taken over the blast site and investigating from all aspects, he said.
“The CTD will determine whether the blast was a suicide blast, if a device was used,” he said. Ghani also claimed that “hostile” intelligence agencies could be involved in this blast.
The injured people have been shifted to the Jinnah Hospital where the condition of six of them is said to be critical. “The injured also include policemen. The condition of six injured of the 17 admitted to hospital is critical,” said Dr Yahya Sultan of Jinnah Hospital. It was a powerful blast that damaged a number of houses, shops and vehicles in the area. (PTI)