The Cabinet is meeting to recommend nomination of CPN Vice-chairman Bam Dev Gautam to the National Assembly on Friday.
A Baluwatar source said the Cabinet meeting will recommend Gautam for nomination after the ruling CPN's secretariat meeting on Thursday took a decision to that regard. .
The president will nominate Gautam to the National Assembly after the Cabinet recommendation.
Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli during the secretariat meeting proposed that the government will recommend the name of Gautam to the president for the National Assembly seat vacant after the two-year term of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada ended six months back.
PM Oli, meanwhile, wants to make Khatiwada, who will not be eligible to continue as finance minister from Saturday after serving for six months without being federal lawmaker, his chief advisor. "He will now become the PM's chief advisor and will help the PM in every way," a source close to Khatiwada said. "There is also a chance of PM keeping the Finance Ministry with him for some time and Khatiwada working as his advisor. Khatiwada will not go to any country as an ambassador."
A Baluwatar source similarly claimed that Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali is likely to become government spokesperson. Khatiwada has been acting as the spokesperson and filling in as the information and communication minister, on top of handling the Finance Ministry, since Gokul Baskota resigned over the audio tape alleging him of dealing for bribe.
