KATHMANDU, Sept 9: CPN (Maoist Center) Parliamentary Party on Friday appointed lawmaker Tek Bahadur Basnet as the party's chief whip. 

The PP meeting held at Singha Durbar selected Basnet with an objective to streamline its working style to bring about effective results. The Centre's post of Chief Whip remained vacant after Hitraj Pandey was appointed the Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development. 

The meeting presided over by the Centre's PP leader and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal also formed a parliamentary board. The board members include Centre's Chairman Dahal, deputy leader Top Bahadur Rayamahji, whip Sita Nepali, lawmakers Girirajmani Pokharel, Haribol Gajurel, Agni Prasad Sapkota, Shakti Basnet, Prabhu Sah, Ganeshman Pun, Rekha Sharma, Ram Narayan Bidari, Santu Darai and Shiva Kumar Mandal. 

The meeting also divided the task of the board. The meeting has also handed over the responsibility of the board secretary to lawmaker Bidari whereas lawmaker Agni Prasad Sapkota will be sent to the Parliamentary Special Hearing Committee (PSHC). 

The party has also appointed Shiva Kumar Mandal as the coordinator of the Province 1, Ram Singh Yadav in Province 2, Satu Darai in Province 3, Krishna Dhital in Province 4, Dor Prasad Upadhyay in Province 5, Mahendra Bahadur Shahi in Province 6 and Harilal Gyawali in Province 7. 

In his address to the meeting, PM Dahal said the present coalition will retain until the local, provincial and federal elections and instructed the lawmakers to make the party's role influential. "We will be in the government until all the three elections are held. So we need to make the work of the party effective," PM Dahal said. "The country was in risk of facing a fearful polarization. The government has addressed the internal national issues to create a strong base of national unity," he added. 

The PM said his upcoming visit to India would focus on diplomatic balance and relations and informed the PP of the preparations for exchange of high level visits. RSS