Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has dismissed ministers representing Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) from the cabinet.
PM Deuba on Thursday sacked four ministers from JSP, which quit the ruling coalition to forge an alliance with CPN-UML for the November 20 federal and provincial elections.
Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Rajendra Shrestha, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transportation Mohammad Ishtiyaq Rai, and Minister for Forests and Environment Pradeep Yadav represented JSP in the Deuba cabinet.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari has assigned the portfolios held by all four ministers to PM Deuba.
JSP Chairman Upendra Yadav had earlier said that they would not quit the government even though they had left the ruling coalition. He had also expressed belief that PM Deuba would not sack his party’s ministers.
Meanwhile, President Bhandari has assigned the responsibility of Law Ministry to Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki as Law Minister Govinda Prasad Sharma Koirala’s term has ended.
Sharma, a non-lawmaker, was appointed minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs on April 7.
As per Article 78 of the Constitution, a person who is not a member of the federal parliament can be appointed as a minister on the recommendation of the prime minister but is required to become a member of the federal parliament within six months from the date of taking oath.
