Nepal’s rapper-turned-PM Balendra Shah sworn in, leading a youth-driven government after landslide election win and deadly anti-corruption protests.
KATHMANDU: Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah was sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister on Friday.
The 35-year-old reformist leads his Rastriya Swatantra Party after a landslide election victory this month.
“I, Balendra Shah, in the name of the country and people, pledge that I will be loyal to the constitution,” Shah said at the ceremony. He was dressed all in black, including his trademark dark sunglasses.
Crowds cheered as he formally took office and named his cabinet.
Key appointments include former youth activist Sudan Gurung as interior minister and Swarnim Wagle as finance minister.
Shah’s rise follows deadly anti-corruption youth protests that toppled the previous government last year.
At least 77 people were killed in the uprising, which tapped into fury over economic hardship.
The new prime minister announced his cabinet a day after releasing his first public statement via a rap song. The track has garnered nearly three million views since its release on Thursday evening.
“The strength of unity is my national power,” Shah sang in the song. He had remained publicly silent since his party’s commanding election win, securing 182 seats in the 275-seat House of Representatives.
His campaign platform centred on youth-driven political change. Shah campaigned alongside RSP president Rabi Lamichhane, a combative television host and former deputy prime minister.
“My heart is full of courage, my red blood is boiling; my brothers stand with me, this time we will rise,” Shah said in his song. The video showed him campaigning for election.
Finance Minister Wagle, a former UN economic advisor, faces the hard task of reforming Nepal’s battered economy. Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal must balance relations between giants India and China.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi swiftly congratulated Shah on Friday. Modi said he looked forward to taking “India-Nepal friendship and cooperation to even greater heights”.
China also congratulated the new leader. Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing wanted to “deepen practical cooperation” with Nepal.
Outgoing interim prime minister Sushila Karki, 73, said the country’s future lay in the hands of a younger generation. “It makes me even more delighted to have a 35-year-old youth as my successor,” Karki said.
She urged Shah to succeed by “striking a balance between caution and boldness”. Karki had ordered an investigation into the crackdown on protesters last year.
A report with the findings of that investigation will be released, Karki said in a statement on Thursday. She did not give further details.
A leaked copy of the report recommends the prosecution of ex-prime minister KP Sharma Oli. The four-time prime minister was toppled in the uprising and defeated by Shah in his own constituency.
The commission’s report also recommends investigating former interior minister Ramesh Lekhak and ex-police chief Chandra Kuber Khapung. At least 19 young people were killed in a crackdown on the first day of protests.
No one has been convicted of the killings. The report states that in 48 of 63 completed autopsies, victims died from bullet wounds to the chest or head.
The Sun Malaysia
