Koirala to take oath on Sunday

Kathmandu, Apr 28 (UNI) The swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Girija Prasad Koirala will take place on Sunday, highly placed sources in Nepali Congress told UNI today.

The swearing in ceremony, which was scheduled to take place at Narayanhity Palace this morning, was deferred as the octogenarian leader was bed ridden due to lung problems.

The sources said Mr Koirala was on a drip and ventilator support at his home.

Earlier, Mr Koirala's political advisor Dr Suresh Chalise had denied that ill health was responsible for the repeated postponement and said the veteran leader's condition was much better today.

Nepal's reinstated parliament met earlier in the day after four years with a resolutions for the formation of a Constituent Assembly and ceasefire with the Maoists.

These resolutions, proposed by Mr Koirala in absentia, were greeted by members loudly thumping the tables.

''Implementing the seven parties' roadmap and the 12-point understanding (with the Maoists) will be first priority...as per my commitment for a constituent assembly to resolve the problems faced by the country, I have registered a proposal to hold Constituent Assembly elections and call for ceasefire with the Maoists at Parliament today itself,'' Mr Koirala's message, read out by Deputy Speaker Chitralekha Yadav, who was chairing the meeting, said.

King Gyanendra had appointed Mr Koirala as the Prime Minister yesterday under article 36(1) of the 1990 Constitution after receiving official intimation from the seven-party alliance and the Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party of his unanimous election to the post.

Mr Koirala could not attend yesterday's mass rally because of ill health nor did he attend yesterday morning's parliamentary meeting of the Nepali Congress which had unanimously elected him as the leader.

Mr Koirala'a absence at yesterday's mass rally received an immensely angry response from the assembled people who continuously hooted Nepali Congress Vice President Sushil Koirala forcing him to cut short his speech.

Though Nepal Bar Association President Shambhu Thapa and others tried to pacify the crowd, they were not successful and it was only CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal who could quieten the crowd.

UNI VD VJ JN BD2044