Pokhara, November 8
Gandaki Chief Minister Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel has removed Energy Minister Hari Sharan Acharya from the cabinet after he was found campaigning against the ruling alliance for the November 20 elections.
Bharat Koirala, the press coordinator of CM Pokharel, says the chief minister has sent a letter to the province chief (governor), asking to remove Acharya from the cabinet.
It has been learned that Acharya solicited votes against the CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Gorkha. After Dahal complained about him to Acharya’s party chief Baburam Bhattarai, top leaders discussed the issue and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba directed CM Pokharel to remove him.
Meanwhile, Acharya said there was no need for the chief minister to remove him from the cabinet. “I have not joined any other party. Hence, there was no need to remove me,” he says.
