PM inducts 12 ministers and three state ministers, allocates ministerial portfolios to those appointed earlier

KATHMANDU, Jan 18: A serious trouble within the ruling alliance has surfaced as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expanded his cabinet on Tuesday. 

While Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP)-led by Upendra Yadav is mulling not to join the cabinet, Janamat Party, which earlier sent a minister in the cabinet, has expressed dissatisfaction over the ministerial portfolio allocated to the party. Janamat Party's Abudul Khan did not take oath of office and secrecy as the party was denied the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies as promised earlier. 

Prime Minister Dahal on Tuesday inducted 12 new ministers and three state ministers, taking the number of ministers to 23 in his cabinet. These include four deputy prime ministers. 

Prime Minister Dahal, who has kept two ministerial portfolios with himself in hope of bringing JSP and Janamat Party onboard the government,  inducted new ministers from CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Center), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Rastriya Swatantra Party.  He inducted four new ministers from the UML, three new ministers and a state minister from the Maoist Center, two ministers and a state minister from the Rastriya Swatantra Party and three ministers including a deputy prime minister and one state minister from the RPP.

Earlier, Prime Minister Dahal had appointed Bishnu Paudel of CPN-UML as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Narayankaji Shrestha of Maoist Center as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Planning and Transport Management, and Rabi Lamichhane of Rastriya Swatantra Party as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. He had also appointed three other ministers Jwala Kumari Shah, Damodar Bhandari and Rajendra Rai  from UML and Abdul Khan from the Janamat Party on December 26. They were, however, not given ministerial portfolios.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Dahal appointed Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Rajendra Lingden as deputy prime minister along with the ministerial portfolio of energy and water resources. RPP’s Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan has been appointed as the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and  Bikram Pandey as the Minister for Urban Development and Dipak Bahadur Singh as State Minister for Energy. 

Similarly, UML leaders Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal took oath as Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Padam Giri as the Minister for Health and Population. Similarly, Hari Upreti (Defense), Jwala Kumari Shah (Agriculture), Bagawati Chaudhary (Women, Children and Social Welfare), Damodar Bhandari (Industry, Commerce and Supplies), Rajendra Rai (Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation) are also appointed as ministers from the UML. 

Those appointed as ministers from Maoist Center include Rekha Sharma (Minister for Communications and Information Technology), Sudan Kiranti (Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation), Aman Lal Modi (Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration) and Sushila Shreepali (Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation). 

Likewise, RSP-led by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has got three other ministerial portfolios and one state ministerial portfolio. RSP's Shishir Khanal has been appointed as Minister for Education and Dol Prasad Aryal Minister for Labor Employment and Social Security. Likewise, Dr Toshima Karki of RSP has been appointed as State Minister for Health.

 
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