Cabinet yet to get full shape due to NC’s internal conflict

Published On: April 12, 2023 01:45 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

PM Dahal still overseeing six ministries

KATHMANDU, April 12: Due to internal tensions within the Nepali Congress (NC), the government led by the Chairman of the Maoist Center, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has not yet been able to get full shape. The Council of Ministers could not be completed because the NC leaders, who had come together to break the seven-party alliance with the UML, did not agree on the division of ministries.

The NC has got eight ministries in the 10-party alliance. Although the NC participated in the government with four ministers, it could not choose the remaining four ministers and one minister of state due to the lack of internal consensus. NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba sent four leaders close to him to the government on March 31 after the ruling alliance parties agreed on the division of ministries on March 30. Deuba sent only four leaders of his party to the government after the Shekhar Koirala faction in the party was not satisfied with the sharing of ministries.

President Deuba had prepared to give two ministers to other groups. The other group took the stand that they should get three ministers and the names of the ministries that they will get should be decided in advance. Leaders of other parties say that Deuba is not ready to give three ministries and they are in favor of appointing the ministries themselves, so they did not give names. The other side is of the opinion that Deuba is in favor of keeping four important ministries, including the Deputy Prime Minister, and keeping the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Health and Population by himself. "We will not participate in the government until we get three ministries, including health and foreign affairs," said a leader from the Koirala faction, "We are not in favor of taking the ministries left by the establishment faction and just being a witness in the government."

But the leaders of the establishment faction claim that there is a problem in the expansion of the cabinet because they cannot reach an agreement on who should go to the government other than the number and the ministries. According to a leader close to Deuba, there is a problem because the Koirala and General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa cannot agree on the person to be sent to the government. The establishment faction claims that Koirala wanted to send Vice President Dhanraj Gurung and Dik Bahadur Limbu to the government, but General Secretary Thapa put forward the name of central member Pradeep Paudel with priority.

Nepali Congress has joined the government under the leadership of Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka. Khadka is a Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister in the current cabinet. On the other hand, Joint General Secretaries Badri Pandey and Jeevan Pariyar are also aspiring to become ministers. Since both the general secretaries will not participate in the government, they have been submitting claims for ministers stating that they are in the order of dignity after Vice President Gurung. Pandey was elected to the House of Representatives from Bajura while Pariyar is a proportional member.

Currently, NC’s Khadka is a Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Prakash Sharan is in charge of the Ministry of Finance, Ramesh Rijal the Ministry of Industry and Sita Gurung is the in-charge of the Ministry of Urban Development. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Youth and Sports are also part of the Nepali Congress. Deuba wants to give NP Saud (Narayan Prakash Saud) the responsibility of foreign affairs and Mohan Bahadur Basnet the responsibility of the health ministry. Deuba is ready to give the remaining two ministries to the rival faction in the party. Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Prakashman Singh, Bimalendra Nidhi, Shashank Koirala have also been seeking their shares in the government.

Due to the internal strife in the NC, Prime Minister Dahal still shoulders the responsibility of six ministries. Prime Minister Dahal has been looking at the remaining four ministries belonging to the NC, and one belonging to the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP). JSP, which has got two ministries, has sent Ashok Rai to the Ministry of Education. It is said that the party will send a minister to the remaining ministry after the by-elections on April 23. The Janmaat party quit the government after leaving the water supply ministry saying that it did not get the industry ministry. Dahal, who was appointed as the Prime Minister on December 25, made the leaders of UML, Maoist Center, Rastriya Swatantra Party and Janamat Party participate in the government while taking the oath of office and secrecy on December 26.

On January 16, after agreeing on the division of ministries, Dahal completed the cabinet by including the Rastriya Prajatantra Party in the government on January 17. The party separated itself from the Dahal-led government in the third week of January when the Supreme Court revoked all the positions held by the chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rabi Lamichhane, over his citizenship controversy. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party and the UML separated themselves from the Dahal-led government on February 25 after the Maoist-led government agreed to proceed together with parties including the Nepali Congress in the presidential election.

According to the provisions of Article 100, Clause 2 of the Constitution of Nepal, Dahal, who received a vote of confidence from the House of Representatives on March 20, agreed on the division of ministries within the new coalition on March 30. Although Dahal expanded the cabinet on March 31, he has not been able to complete it yet.