The group of Sudan Gurung protested and chanted slogans in front of the prime minister's (PM) residence in Baluwatar Sunday night.
Claiming to be leaders of the Gen Z movement, the protestors demonstrated against the Cabinet expansion, which they said was done without consulting them. They also demanded the resignation of PM Sushila Karki.
"If we come back to the streets, no one can stop us. We will rip [them] out from where we put them," Gurung said angrily while protesting. "Om Prakash Aryal, the lawyer... he's making himself home minister from inside!"
He also brought with him the relatives of those who were injured or killed during the protests last week.
Meanwhile, PM Karki has decided that lawyer Aryal will lead the Home and Law ministries. She had previously picked Rameshwor Khanal as Finance Minister and Kulman Ghising as Energy Minister.
Aryal had gained popularity after filing a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the appointment of Lokman Singh Karki as the head of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority. He has been fighting legal battles for various public interest issues and is also a legal advisor for the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. He was also involved in talks with President Ram Chandra Paudel during Karki's appointment as interim PM and was present at her swearing-in ceremony.
Khanal, who is taking charge of the Finance Ministry, is a former finance secretary. He recently submitted a 447-page report to the KP Oli government as chairman of the High-Level Economic Reforms Recommendation Commission. The report provided specific suggestions on where the economy's weaknesses lie, why problems have arisen, what to do immediately, and what long-term measures to take.
Ghising, who will lead the Energy Ministry, is the former managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority. He is popular among the public for his management skills, which were credited with ending load shedding in Nepal. He was removed from his position by the Oli government a few months ago and was replaced by Hitendra Dev Shakya.
Sources say that PM Karki initially spoke with all three of them by phone before calling them to her office for discussions and making the final decision. Karki had already appointed senior advocate Sabita Bhandari as Attorney General.
The PM started discussions to form her Cabinet Sunday morning. The Cabinet will have a maximum of 11 members, including the PM. This means that the ministers who have already been appointed may also be assigned other ministries.
Karki was appointed as the interim PM after her predecessor Oli resigned under pressure from the Gen Z movement. She is the first female PM in Nepal's history. Immediately after Karki was sworn in, the House of Representatives was dissolved and a new election was announced for March 5.
