By Our Reporter
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been unable to expand the Cabinet even two weeks after his appointment to the top executive post thanks to the large number of aspirants to ministerial berths.
PM Deuba had sworn in on July 13, a day after the Supreme Court order for his appointment, by forming a five-member Cabinet. On Sunday, he managed to add a state minister to his Cabinet. However, the addition of Umesh Shrestha as State Minister for Health was dragged into the controversy.
Including Shrestha, the Cabinet now has six members—PM Deuba, Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, Law, Justice and Parliament Affairs Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Water Resource, Energy and Irrigation Minister Pampha Bhusal and Finance Minister Janadrdhan Sharma.
As PM Deuba is leading a coalition government of five parties, the parties are also unable to select ministerial candidates because of an unmanageable number of aspirants. Again, there are factional groups within the ruling parties. For example, NC has three groups, one led by PM Deuba himself, another by senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel and the third by Krishna Sitaula and they are bargaining for more posts of ministers.
Recently, Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Centre said that he was unable to select ministers as all 48 lawmakers of his party were exerting pressure on him.
Again, the two factions of Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal and the Prem Ale faction of the Madhav Kumar Nepal group, which also voted PM Deuba during the vote of confidence are also seeking the ministerial position. It is still uncertain whether the Nepal group of UML sends ministers in the Cabinet as the group is also trying to maintain unity in the party.
Now there are only 19 vacant posts of ministers, but the aspirants are at least double the vacant posts. Again, as the Nepali Congress is holding its 14th general convention next month, Deuba does not want to irk his loyal by not inducting them in Cabinet. As a result, Cabinet expansion is being delayed. At a time when the health experts have warned of the third wave of coronavirus, the health ministry itself has remained without leadership.
NC national convention likely to be deferred again
With the postponement of its ward level convention, the Nepali Congress is likely to defer its central level convention as well citing the problem invited by the coronavirus although it is the dispute over the active membership that has put the party leadership under pressure to defer the convention.
On Saturday, the party postponed its ward level convention scheduled for July 27 for an indefinite period as the committee formed to solve the problem of active membership failed to submit its report.
As it is the ward level convention that selects representatives for all other higher level conventions—of the municipality, electoral constituency, district, province and central, the whole convention calendar has been affected because those contesting for the post at the central level should be elected from ward level convention.
Hence, when holding the ward level convention has become uncertain, the central level convention has also become uncertain. There have been rumours that party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is leading the government, is planning to defer the central convention by two months stating that the lockdown period could be counted as ‘zero time’
However, the rival faction led by Ram Chandra Paudel has strongly opposed any idea of postponing the central level convention which is scheduled from September 1.
The faction led by its senior leader Paudel has stressed the need for holding the party’s 14th general convention on the scheduled date.
A meeting of the faction held on Sunday, a day after the party decided to put off its local level general convention scheduled from July 27, concluded that the general convention should be held on the scheduled date of September 1-4.
In a meeting held at party general secretary Dr Shashanka Koirala’s Maharajgunj-based residence, the rival leaders concluded that the general convention should be held by ending the tasks of the active membership probe committee at the earliest.
The leaders also said that they would not accept postponement of the general convention in any pretext.
The meeting was attended by senior leader Paudel, Dr Koirala, leader Prakashman Singh, leader Dr Shekhar Koirala and others.
Login to add a comment