POKHARA, March 18 -- Rajiv Gurung (aka Deepak Manange), who left the CPN (Unified Socialist) and demanded the status of an independent parliamentarian, has been appointed as a minister.

Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey appointed Manange as the Minister for Physical Infrastructure. He is taking the oath of office and secrecy today at 3:30 PM.

Manange, who won the election as an independent candidate, was recently affiliated with the Unified Socialist Party. However, with the latest political developments, he said that he had abandoned the party on Sunday.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Republica....