Cabinet expanded: 12 new ministers, 3 state ministers sworn in

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Tuesday expanded his cabinet. He expanded the cabinet  three weeks after he assumed office on December 25.

Prachanda inducted 12 new ministers and three state ministers today. Top leaders of the ruling coalition had agreed on ministerial allocations late Monday night.

Earlier, there were only eight members in the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, three Deputy Prime Ministers and four ministers without portfolios.

The government now has four deputy prime ministers—Bishnu Poudel from the CPN-UML, Narayan Kaji Shrestha from CPN (Maoist Centre), Rabi Lamichhane from the Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rajendra Lingden from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party.

With this, the government’s strength has now reached 22, including 19 ministers and 3 ministers of state.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrery to the newly-appointed deputy prime minister, ministers and state minister.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden has been appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister along with the Minister of Energy.

RPP Vice Chairman Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan has been appointed as the Minister of Law, and Bikram Pandey has been appointed as the Minister for Urban Development.

Similarly, Maoist Center’s Rekha Sharma has been appointed as the Minister of Information and Communications; Sudan Kiranti as the Minister of Culture and Tourism; and Aman Lal Modi as the Minister of Federal Affairs and General Administration.

List of Ministers:

Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Maoist Center): Prime Minister

Bishnu Prasad Paudel (CPN-UML): Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Finance Minister

Narayankaji Shrestha (Maoist Center): DPM and Minister of Physical Infrastructure

Rabi Lamichhane (Rastriya Swatantra Party): DPM and Miniter of Home Affairs

Rajendra Lingden (Rastriya Prajatantra Party): DPM and Minister of Energy

Padam Giri (CPN-UML), Minister of Health

Dr. Bimala Rai Paudel (CPN-UML), Minister of Foreign Affairs

Hari Upreti (CPN-UML): Minister of Defense

Jwala Kumari Sah (CPN-UML), Minister of Agriculture

Bhagwati Chaudhary (CPN-UML), Minister of Women and Children

Damodar Bhandari (CPN-UML): Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supply

Rajendra Rai (CPN-UML): Minister of Land Management and Cooperatives

Rekha Sharma (Maoist Center): Minister of Communication and Information Technology

Sudan Kirati (Maoist Center): Minister of Tourism

Amanlal Modi (Maoist Center): Minister of General Administration

Shishir Khanal (Rastriya Swatantra Party): Minister of Education

DP Aryal (Rastriya Swatantra Party): Minister of Labor and Employment

Bikram Pandey (Rastriya Prajatantra Party): Minister of Urban Development

Dhruba Pradhan (Rastriya Prajatantra Party): Minister of Law

Abdul Khan (Janamat Party): Minister of State

Dr. Tosima Karki (Rastriya Swatantra Party): State Minister of Health

Deepak Bahadur Singh (RPP), State Minister of Energy