Kathmandu, January 27

The government has constituted a group of eminent persons to recommend ways to further deepen the multi-faceted relations subsisting between Nepal and India.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar this evening decided to form the group comprising four eminent persons.

After the meeting, government spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communications Sherdhan Rai said economist Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, legal expert Surya Nath Upadhyaya, civil society leader Nilambar Acahrya and lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai were in the group of eminent persons.

Thapa is the former foreign minister and ambassador to India, while Upadhyaya is the former chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. Similarly, Acharya from the civil society and lawmaker Bhattarai have also been included in the group of eminent persons. The government formed the group as per the agreement reached during the third meeting of Nepal-India Joint Commission meeting held last year in Kathmandu. It has been given two year terms.

The previous meeting of the Council of Ministers had held adequate discussion on formation of the group, informed Minister Rai. Likewise, the Cabinet transferred two secretaries. As per the decision, Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya was transferred to the Ministry of Information and Communications from the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation while Prem Kumar Rai was transferred to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Cabinet meeting also appointed Bheshraj Sharma as the Vice-Chairman of Nepal Law Reforms Commission. The government appointed Sharma to the post by accepting his resignation tendered from the post of secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The cabinet meeting also accepted the resignation of Prachanda Man Pradhan.