Prachanda reshuffles his cabinet; 16 newly appointed ministers took an oath of office and secrecy

Kathmandu: 16 newly appointed ministers took an oath of office and secrecy on Wednesday. These new ministers were sworn in amid an event at the Office of President at Sital Niwas.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had earlier appointed three ministers on Monday after forming a new coalition with CPN-UML, JSP and RSP. The coalition parties reached an agreement on Wednesday on ministerial allocation paving a way for expansion of the Cabinet.

CPN-Maoist’s Barshaman Pun will take charge of the Ministry of Finance, while Rabi Lamichhane of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) will take charge of the Home Ministry.

Likewise, Maoist Center’s Narayan Kaji Shrestha has been designated as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Similarly, RSP’s DP Aryal has been named as the Minister of Labor, Sumana Shrestha as the Minister of Education, and Biraj Bhakta as the Minister of Sports and Youth. CPN-UML’s Raghubir Mahaseth will take charge as the Minister of Physical Infrastructure while Rajendra Kumar Rai is named Minister for Drinking Water and Irrigation.

Similarly, Padam Giri will be appointed as Minister for Law, Bhagwati Chaudhary as Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens, Balram Adhikari as Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Damodar Bhandari as Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Hari Upreti as Defence Minister and Jwala Kumari Shah as Agriculture Minister.

Likewise, the Maoist Center’s Rekha Sharma will serve as Communication Minister, with Shakti Bahadur Basnet as Energy Minister and Hit Bahadur Tamang as Tourism Minister.

Similarly, Bhanu Bhakta Joshi has been appointed as Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, while Dhan Bahadur Buda will serve as the Urban Development Minister from CPN (Unified Socialist).