CPN provincial assembly member from Bagmati Rameshwore Phuyal was set to be sworn in as minister on Wednesday.
But Chief Minister (CM) Dor Mani Paudel, who had appointed the party's chief whip in the province as physical planning minister, cancelled the oath-taking ceremony in the eleventh hour.
A party source claimed with Setopati that the swearing-in was cancelled after the party's provincial incharge Ashta Laxmi Shakya threatened to register a no-confidence motion if Phuyal were sworn in. The source added that Shakya, who was unhappy over the all-male Cabinet, threatened to register the no-confidence motion after Paudel ignored her request to appoint the minister on consensus only after discussion.
Shakya had complained with Chairman duo KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal after Paudel ignored her request to include at least one female minister.
The source claimed that Dahal supported her while Oli, whose faction Phuyal belongs to, was silent. The source added that Paudel has stepped back after intense pressure from the party's provincial committee and not receiving support even from the center.
When asked why his swearing-in was stopped, Phuyal told Setopati that he is in a difficult journey and will remain happy in that. "It seems it will happen some time and then it won't. This happens in politics. I have heard that I have been selected as minister but I've yet to receive notice from the provincial chief. I am, therefore, waiting patiently," he stated. "Rameshwore Phuyal is a nail. It will get nailed at whatever place CPN deems is appropriate."
The Physical Planning Ministry is vacant after Keshav Sthapit was sacked November 2, 2018. CM Paudel has been overseeing the ministry since.
