Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expanded his Cabinet on Tuesday more than three weeks after being appointed PM on December 25.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari has administered oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers including Deputy PM Rajendra Lingden at the Sheetal Niwas on Tuesday.
Four new ministers have been inducted from CPN-UML, four including a state minister from Dahal’s CPN (Maoist Center), three from RPP and three including a state minister from Rastriya Swatantra Party.
RPP Chairman Rajendra Lingden has become Deputy PM and Energy Minister, Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan Law Minister, Bikram Pandey Urban Development Minister and Deepak Singh Minister of State for Energy.
Rastriya Swatantra Party’s Shishir Khanal, who is founder of Teach for Nepal, has become Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Dol Prasad Aryal Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security, and Toshima Karki Minister of State for Health.
Hari Uprety of UML has become Defense Minister, Bimala Paudel Rai Foreign Minister, Padam Giri Health Minister and Bhagawati Chaudhary Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens.
Rekha Sharma of Maoist Center has become Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Aman Lal Modi Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, Sudan Kirati Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Sushila Sripali Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Three DPMs—UML Vice-chairman Bishnu Paudel, Senior Vice-chairman of Maoist Center Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane—were sworn in together with PM Dahal on December 26.
Paudel has been leading the Finance Ministry, Shrestha the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Lamichhane the Home Ministry since then.
Damodar Bhandari, Jwala Kumari Sah and Rajendra Rai of UML, and Abdul Khan of Janamat Party led by CK Raut were also sworn in as ministers the same day but were not given any portfolio.
Bhandari has been made Industry Minister, Sah Agriculture Minister, Rai Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, and Khan Water Supply Minister.
