New PM takes oath of office

Описание: (12 Oct 2015) Nepal's new Prime Minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, took the oath of office Monday in Kathmandu and appointed the leaders of groups that are protesting the new constitution as his deputies.
Oli was sworn in by President Ram Baran Yadav in a solemn ceremony a day after he was elected in Parliament with support from smaller parties.
He appointed Bijaya Gachchedar, who leads one of the Madhesi ethnic groups, and Kamal Thapa, whose party is demanding Nepal be restored as a Hindu state, as his Deputy Prime Ministers in his attempt to resolve the crisis in this Himalayan nation.
Gachchedar is leader of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum, which is not the main Madhesi group but has significant support in the region.
At the ceremony in Kathmandu, Gachchedar said amendments to the new constitution would "resolve and address the demands" made by the Madhesi and Tharu groups.
The main Madhesi group has said it would continue protests.
Also named Deputy Prime Minister was Kamal Thapa, the leader of National Democratic Party-Nepal, which wants Nepal to remain a Hindu nation rather than secular.
They protested before the constitution was adopted and voted against it when Parliament approved the document last month.
Madhesis and other ethnic groups in the south have been protesting against the new constitution for weeks.
The country is facing a severe fuel shortage because the Madhesi protests have blocked a key border point from India and supplies through other border points have halted.
India, which has close ties to the Madhesis, denies there is a blockade and says drivers are afraid to enter Nepal, though Nepal says there is no trouble at many crossings.

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