KATHMANDU:  The CPN Maoist Centre has assigned the responsibility of Chief Whip of its parliamentary party to former minister and lawmaker Rekha Sharma.

The parliamentary board meeting of the party held at the residence of parliamentary party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal took this decision on Thursday.

The post was lying vacant after then chief whip Tek Bahadur Basnet was appointed Minister for General Administration.

The meeting also decided that the party and its parliamentary party would take special initiative to speed up the process of passing the bills relating to the federalism being considered in various committees under the Legislature-Parliament.