PM expands cabinet; eight new ministers sworn in
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has expanded his three-member cabinet by inducting one deputy prime minister and seven new ministers including six ministers from Nepali Congress and one minister from the CPN (ML), Thursday evening.
President Dr Ram Baran Yadav has appointed Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) parliamentary party leader Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar as the deputy prime minister, and Sujata Koirala, Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minendra Rijal, Bal Krishna Khand, Uma Kanta Chaudhary and Purna Kumar Sherma of NC and Dambar Shrestha of the CPN (ML) as ministers.
Sujata Koirala, who leads the NC team, has got the portfolio of the foreign ministry and Gachhadar has got the portfolio of ministry of physical planning and works. Other ministers are yet to be allocated with a ministry.
PM Nepal administered oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed ministers in presence of President Yadav amid a special function organised at the President’s office, Shital Niwas at 8 pm Thursday.
Earlier today, NC president Girija Prasad Koirala named his daughter Sujata as the party's leader in the government despite resentment from senior NC leaders and MJF leader Gachhadar submitted a list of ministerial candidates from his party to PM Nepal.
Meanwhile, the coalition leader, CPN-UML, could not nominate its ministers today. Party sources said the list of ministers could not be finalised as some coalition partners were yet to submit their lists. nepalnews.com June 04 09
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