Kathmandu, Aug 16: Indra Baniya, chief minister of Bagmati Province, has completed forming his cabinet. Baniya became chief minister by removing Bahadur Singh Lama through a no-confidence motion. He has not included any member from Lama’s faction in the cabinet.
In the 14-member cabinet, six ministers are from UML and eight, including the chief minister, are from Congress. While appointing seven ministers from the party, Baniya blocked all those who had opposed him in the parliamentary party election.
Earlier, he had assigned departmental responsibility only to Krishnakumar Tamang. On Friday, he assigned portfolios to all ministers. All Congress ministers have now received departmental responsibilities.
In the cabinet, Shivraj Adhikari has been appointed Minister of Internal Affairs and Law, Urmila Nepal Minister of Youth and Sports, Kanchanchandra Bade Minister of Social Development, Prabhat Tamang Minister of Economic Affairs and Planning, Suresh Shrestha Minister of Culture and Tourism, Krishnakumar Tamang Minister of Drinking Water, Energy and Irrigation, and Binu Rayamajhi Paudel Minister of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.
Despite the cabinet being complete, dissatisfaction within Congress has grown. Although Lama lost the parliamentary party election, he initially refused to step down as chief minister. He insisted on keeping the post since there was no constitutional requirement for the chief minister to also be the parliamentary party leader.
Later, an agreement was reached through the mediation of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba. Lama had demanded that three members from his faction be made ministers. After Deuba gave consent, Lama resigned on 18 Shrawan. Lama’s faction claims there was also an understanding to cooperate in government operations and make important decisions through consultation.
Kundan Kafle, a central member of Congress and provincial lawmaker, told Baharkhari, “From day one, Indra Baniya violated the agreement. We gave the vote of confidence because the leadership asked us to, but he has betrayed not us, but President Sher Bahadur Deuba.”
He said they are observing how Deuba will respond to Baniya, who formed a unilateral cabinet against the agreement. “He has not implemented the agreement with the party president. Now he has formed a unilateral cabinet. We are watching how the president reacts and how the party moves forward in the coming days.”
Kafle added that they will now support or oppose the government based on its performance, while party activities will continue according to process.
The Baniya faction argues that since the written agreement was not implemented, there is no need to address those who were removed from the election.
A Baniya faction lawmaker told Baharkhari, “The agreement was to hand over the post by the end of Jestha and allow the budget to pass. When it was clear that he would not step down even after a month, he was removed from the parliamentary party. If he does not honor the written agreement, which agreement is he talking about now?”
They claim that the chief minister did not make any agreements with Lama’s faction.
Party parliamentary party secretary Meenakrishna Maharjan stated that ministers were appointed under the instructions of central president Deuba, arguing that Lama is also part of Deuba’s team. “It’s not about this faction or that faction. Ministers were appointed according to top leadership instructions,” Maharjan told Baharkhari. “Those whom President Deuba asked to be made ministers were appointed. There is no room to discuss factions now.”
People’s News Monitoring Service
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