Top 10 Newsmakers of 2066 BS

The Nepali year 2066 BS is going to finish on April 14, 2010. The year had a few ups and a lot of downs. I am compiling the top newsmakers of the year 2066. Writing the full list will take some time. I will update this page later and hopefully will finish before the year 2066 finishes.

1. Gyanendra Shah (Ex-King, wounded lion?)

Gyanendra (King of Nepal from 2001 to 2008) made news again at the end of the year by telling that the royalty is not dead yet. The political environment was heated and it started political debate on his statement.

2. Paramananda Jha (Hindi attachment)

Paramananda Jha came into controversy after he took the oath of office and secrecy in Hindi language. Paramananda Jha’s position as the Vice President has become defunct from 31 August 2009, with his refusal to take oath in Nepali. According to the Supreme Court’s verdict, Jha wasn’t allowed to perform any duties in capacity of the VP and wasn’t entitled to special security and privileges given to him as the VP. Jha was then in a situation where he has been elected as the VP by the parliament, but hasn’t taken oath.

After six months off duty, Vice President’s post was reactivated from February 7, 2010, after he took fresh oath of office and secrecy. This time, he took the oath both in Nepali and his mother tongue Maithali. Taking oath in mother tongue other than Nepali is permitted after a recent amendment in current Constitution letting President, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ministers to take oath of office and secrecy in their respective mother tongues.

3. Sujata Koirala (The ‘royal’ daughter)

Girija Prasad Koirala wanted to install Sujata as a top leader in his party. In such attempt, Koirala appointed Sujata as a minister without portfolio in his cabinet. In the current government she was made a Foreign Minister, largely under pressure of her father Girija. Members of his party however protested on the appointment of the party leader and such an important portfolio.

The protest escalated when she was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister. It is to be noted that she had lost the election from Sunsari.

4. Bidya Devi Bhandari (Controversial voice)

The Minister of Defense, Vidya Bhandari, was dragged into controversy various times on her talks against the party president Jhal Nath Khanal, Maoist party, and the Nepali Army. She is even accused of acting more like the army’s spokesperson than a minister.

The widow of one of the most influencial politician, Madan Bhandari, who was killed in a mysterious accident, Vidya was brought in politics on sympathy and some even question her political strength.

5. Rukmangat Katuwal (Stubborn army chief)

[…more later…]

6. Karima Begum (‘Slap’ minister)

Minister Karima Begum made news when she slapped a Chief District Officer of her home district citing the failure to provide with the vehicle she demanded.

The CDO was punished and transferred instead of the culprit, the minister. PM Nepal didn’t want to meddle with the inter-party relationship by punishing Karima. The agriculture minister also made news when she told that she want to plant coffee in Tarai (lower regions of Nepal) which technically is not possible. This was a perfect example of how informed Nepali ministers are on the subject matter of their ministry.

7. Namrata Shrestha (Naughty Actress)

Namrata made news when a private video of the actress surfaced online. She went into hiding for some time but has already started working in new projects these days.

8. Rizwan Ansari

State Minister for Home Affairs, Rizwan Ansari, made news when he claimed that he wasn’t given any responsibilities. He later resigned and told that he was forced to resign from the post.

9. Girija Prasad Koirala (Active till the last breath)

The death of four times prime minister of Nepal (serving from 1991 to 1994, 1998 to 1999, 2000 to 2001, and from 2006 to 2008) Girija Prasad Koirala left a huge void in Nepali Congress and Nepali political equation. He had his share of criticisms but, everybody appreciate his role in the safe landing of Maoist and initialization of the peace process. He had played a pivotal roles during various crisis in Nepali politics. (more in Wikipedia)

10. Madhav Kumar Nepal (Defeated Prime minister)

Badly defeated from both Rautahat-6 and Kathmandu-2 election, Nepal Madhav Kumar was one of the luckiest person in Nepali history to be seated in the chair of Prime Minister. As dramatic was his accent to the post the end of the tenure was more dramatic and nobody was available to replace him for months even after his resignation. (more in Wikipedia)

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.