ITAHARI: The Province 1 Government got three chief ministers and 34 ministers in its first term. Still, it couldn’t get a name. As the Province 1 Assembly begins its new five-year term, the newly-formed government is under pressure to give a name to the country’s easternmost province.
Revati Raman Bhandari, the whip of the ruling CPN-UML in the Province 1 Assembly, stated that preparations were underway to finalize the name of the province in the winter session of the assembly. “The Chief Minister will soon hold an all-party meeting for the same. We will finalize the issue accordingly,” Bhandari said. The ruling coalition will first forge a consensus on the name and hold a discussion with the main opposition, he added.
Various names have been discussed including Sagarmatha, as the province is home to Mt. Everest, the highest peak on earth, Saptakoshi, Koshi, Bijayapur, Kirant, Kirant-Limbuwan and Limbuwan-Kirant. Sagarmatha is the Nepali name of Mt Everest.
The government will need the support of 62 members of the 93-member province assembly to finalize the name. The ruling coalition has 60 members, while the opposition parties Nepali Congress and CPN (Unified Socialist) have 29 and four members, respectively. This means that the ruling coalition will need the support of either NC or Unified Socialist to pass the naming proposal.
Various names have been discussed including Sagarmatha, Saptakoshi, Koshi, Bijayapur, Kirant, Kirant-Limbuwan and Limbuwan-Kirant.
Uddhab Thapa, the parliamentary leader of the Nepali Congress in the Province 1 Assembly, expressed hope that the government will not repeat the mistake of the first term and finalize the name of the province without any delay. “I believe the province government will bring the naming proposal in the current session of the province assembly,” he added.
Newly appointed Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki stated that the province government has accorded high priority to naming the province and will move ahead on an all-party consensus basis. He acknowledged that the failure to name the province in the first term of the province assembly was met with criticism and that naming the province is now a top priority.
