PM Dahal expands cabinet, new ministers sworn in

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expanded his cabinet on Friday.

PM Dahal inducted ministers from the Nepali Congress and five other new parties in his newly reshuffled cabinet.

Here is the list of newly appointed ministers :

• Purna Bahadur Khadka, Prakash Sharan Mahat, Ramesh Rijal, and Sita Gurung of the Nepali Congress (NC) have been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Minister for Finance, Minister for Industry, and Minister for Urban Development, respectively.
• Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Shakti Basnet of CPN (Maoist Centre) have been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs and Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation respectively .
• Beduram Bhusal from CPN (Unified Socialist) has been appointed as the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development, and Prakash Jwala, the party’s Deputy General Secretary, as the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport.
• Ashok Rai of the Janata Samajbadi Party has been appointed as the Minister for Education, Science, and Technology.
• Sharat Singh Bhandari has been appointed as the Minister for Labour, Employment, and Social Security.
• Nagarik Unmukti Party Chairperson Ranjita Chaudhary has been appointed as the Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation.
• Mahendra Raya Yadav, the Nepal Samajbadi Party Chairman, has been appointed as the Minister for Women, Children, and Social Welfare.

The newly appointed ministers took the oath of office and secrecy from President Ram Chandra Paudel this afternoon.

The cabinet, however, is yet to get full shape.

Meanwhile, Minister of Water Supply Abdul Khan resigned from his post today.