Industry Minister Yadav resigns after LPG remarks spark backlash
KATHMANDU: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Gauri Kumari Yadav has submitted her resignation to Prime Minister Balendra Shah.
Confirming the development, Yadav’s secretariat said, “Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Gauri Kumari Yadav has submitted her resignation to Prime Minister Balendra Shah today.”
The resignation comes a day after a contentious meeting of the House of Representatives’ Industry, Commerce, Labour and Consumer Welfare Committee, during which Yadav blamed private cylinder bottling companies for the ongoing cooking gas shortage.
Addressing the committee on Wednesday, she said, “The current gas shortage is caused by industrialists; until gas industrialists are bound and penalised, the shortage will not ease.”
Yadav also called for the cancellation of licences of all 58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling companies operating in Nepal, saying, “The country does not need so many gas industries; only two are enough.”
Her comments drew swift criticism from the business community. Business leaders subsequently met Prime Minister Shah to express their dissatisfaction over the remarks.
