Sood confers with Koirala, Oli

Indian ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood held separate meetings with Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and UML leader K.P Sharma Oli on Monday, reportedly asking them to expand the cabinet at the earliest.

Sood met Koirala at the latter's Maharajgunj residence in the morning and discussed the current political situation, especially issues related to cabinet expansion. He is known to have told Koirala that further delay in giving full shape to the cabinet would reflect badly on the peace process.

Similarly, in his meeting with Oli, the Indian ambassador voiced similar concern over the delay in cabinet expansion.

The meetings with Indian ambassador, who was engaged in high-level political parleys right after the election of the new Prime Minister, came as the UML-led coalition scrambled to expand the three-member cabinet owing to internal dispute in the coalition partners.

Sood has met Madhav Kumar Nepal at least twice after he was elected Prime Minister. nepalnews.com June 01 09