Amid Opposition Protests, Nepal PM Wins Parliamentary Vote

Nepal’s prime minister has won a parliamentary vote of confidence amid protests by the opposition demanding a parliamentary probe into allegations that his home minister illegally took money from several companies before he entered politics.

Pushpa Dahal, a former Maoist rebel chief in the Himalayan nation sandwiched between China and India, formed a coalition cabinet in March with the support of the liberal Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party and several smaller parties.

Report says a fresh vote of confidence became necessary after a junior partner in the coalition withdrew support following differences with the leader.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Nepali Congress said Dahal must set up a parliamentary panel to probe allegations that Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the home ministry, Rabi Lamichhane, illegally took large amounts of money from a number of cooperative companies, which are formed and run by a small group of people, when he was a television show presenter before joining politics.

Dahal, who still goes by his war nom de guerre “Prachanda”, which means fierce, led a decade-long insurgency from 1996 which caused 17,000 deaths before he joined mainstream politics under a 2006 peace deal overseen by the United Nations.

He is serving a third time as prime minister, although he did not complete the full five-year term during previous stints.

Nepal has had 13 governments since it abolished its 239-year-old monarchy in 2008 and became a republic.

REUTERS/Christopher Ojilere