CPN (Maoist Center) lawmakers have slammed the party leadership for repeating a few previous ministers in the new Cabinet.
Maoist Chairman and Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal made Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who was deputy PM and home minister in the previous coalition, deputy PM and foreign minister in the new Cabinet.
Shakti Bahadur Basnet and Rekha Sharma were also retained as energy, and communication and information technology ministers respectively.
Barsha Man Pun (finance) and Hit Bahadur Tamang (culture, tourism and civil aviation) were the only Maoist ministers who were not in the previous Cabinet.
Maoist lawmakers have questioned about the process to pick ministers during the parliamentary party meeting on Saturday.
Maoist ministers earlier were picked either by the central committee or by Chairman Dahal with consent of the central committee but the process was not followed this time.
Lawmaker Madhav Sapkota slammed Shrestha in the meeting stating that he was born to become minister. Referring to the fact that Shrestha had not fought the Maoist insurgency and joined the party only after the peace process Sapkota stressed that a single person repeatedly getting opportunities was an insult for those who fought during the insurgency.
“There are three martyrs in my house. There are eight in my Sapkota family and 22 in my village. The public support for Maoists is the strongest in my village. I am ready if you ask me to resign immediately and plunge into party works deeming that I objected only because I did not get opportunity,” Sapkota fumed. “But the party has started to make those who bargain and threaten minister violating the system and process.”
Sapkota also challenged Shrestha, who has never won an election to the House of Representatives (HoR), to contest and win election from any place in the country.
Speaking after that Shrestha, who is also senior vice-chair, took exception to discrimination among those who have fought the Maoist insurgency and those who have not, and stated that everyone has her own role and contribution in the party.
Other lawmakers also questioned repetition of Shrestha in the new Cabinet. Lawmaker Maya Prasad Sharma questioned why Shrestha could not give up the post of minister when CPN-UML’s Bishnu Paudel can give it up even when UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli wanted to make him minister.
Sharma also questioned repetition of Basnet as energy minister pointing that other leaders in Karnali and Jajarkot have also contributed to the party. “What special qualities does Basnet have that he always should become minister? What works did he do while becoming minister for a year?”
Lawmaker Aman Lal Modi also questioned why the party only removed Sudan Kirati from the Maoist ministers in the previous Cabinet pointing that the party made Kirati a sacrificial scapegoat.
Another lawmaker Surya Man Dong also slammed picking of ministers without following due procedures and opined that the party would not become stronger as a result.
