Sixteen new ministers from CPN (UML), CPN (Maoist Center), Rastriya Swatantra Party, and CPN (Unified Socialist) have taken the oath of office and secrecy.
The newly elected ministers including three deputy prime ministers took the oath of office amidst a ceremony organized at the Office of the Prime Minister in Sheetal Niwas on Wednesday evening.
With this, the Council of Ministers has now been expanded to a 20-member cabinet.
In the reshuffled cabinet led by Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', UML Deputy General Secretary Raghubir Mahaseth, Maoist Center Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha, and RSP President Rabi Lamichhane have become deputy prime ministers.
Mahaseth has got the responsibility of the Ministry of the Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Narayan Kaji (Foreign Ministry) while Lamichhane has been assigned to look after the Home Ministry.
Hari Upreti has been given the responsibility of Defense Ministry, Bhagwati Chaudhary (Women, Children and Senior Citizens), Rajendra Rai (Water Supply), and Damodar Bhandari has got the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. Similarly, Jwala Kumari Sah has become the Ministry for Agriculture and Livestock Development, while Balaram Adhikari will lead the Ministry of Land Management, and Cooperatives representing the UML.
Similarly, Barshaman Pun has been given the responsibility of the Finance Ministry, Shakti Basnet will lead the Ministry of Energy, and Rekha Sharma will take charge of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Basnet and Rekha had the same ministerial portfolios in the previous cabinet, too.
RSP's Biraj Bhakta Shrestha has become the Minister for Youth and Sports while Sumana Shrestha will lead the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Likewise, Bhanu Bhakta Joshi has become the Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration while Dhan Bahadur Budha will take charge of the Ministry of Urban Development representing the Unified Socialist.
On Monday, Padam Giri from UML, Hit Bahadur Tamang from the Maoist Center, and Dol Prasad Aryal from the RSP were sworn-in as the ministers without portfolios.
Of them, Giri has got the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Hit Bahadur Tamang (the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation) while DP Aryal will lead the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.
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