Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati has fallen into difficulty after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' proposed controversial figure Lyarkal Lama as the vice chairman of Lumbini Development Trust.
Prime Minister Prachanda proposed Lyarkal Lama at a time when the preparations are underway to appoint Ani Choying Dolma to the post of Vice Chairman.
Half a dozen individuals are in the fray for the post of the Vice Chairman of the Lumbini Development Trust which has been lying vacant since the last week of July. But, one among Dolma or Lama is likely to be appointed to the post.
Half a dozen individuals are lobbying hard to curry favor with the Prime Minister and the Tourism Minister for the appointment to the coveted post.
Prime Minister is the patron of the Lumbini Development Trust while the Tourism Minister is the chairman of the Lumbini Development Council.
The vice chairman is nominated by the government. Similarly, four secretaries from the government, experts from Buddhist organizations, and four from international organizations will be appointed. Likewise, the treasure and member secretary will be appointed by the government, as per the provision. The vice chairman is the executive post of the Council.
A source at the ministry has said that Minister Kirati has been directed to bring a proposal to appoint Lyarkal as the vice chairman.
"There has been a direction from the Prime Minister to recommend Lyarkal for the post of Vice Chairman," said a highly-placed source at the Ministry.
The Prime Minister will appoint the vice chairman based on the recommendation of the ministry, according to the provision.
Minister Kirati is in favor of Ani Choying Dolma who is also a popular singer. Minister Kirati had on July 4 made public a photo posed with Dolma through a social networking site. "A good person with positive attitude, and so is her vocal," Minister Kirati captioned the image.
Ani Choying Dolma was born in 1971 at Bouddha in Kathmnadu. She is a Tibetan refugee.
"Minister wants to appoint Dolma but there have been some technical problems for her appointment to the post including the citizenship," said the official.
Aside from the Council, there is a separate committee to conduct all the operations of the fund. The chairman of the Council is the ex-officio chairman of the committee. Besides, there will be members and the member secretary chosen by the chairman, vice chairman, and the treasurer.
Meanwhile, a group of Buddhists on July 31 organized a press meeting and drew the attention of the government to appoint those who have not been implicated in criminal cases and controversies.
