Kathmandu, May 6 (IANS) A new cabinet comprising 11 ministers belonging to different political parties has sworn in Nepal, Xinhua reported Sunday.
The new government has been formed after dissolving the previous cabinet as per a five-point agreement reached amongst the parties to form a national consensus government under Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai.
Ministers from Nepali Congress (NC), United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) and Unified Communist Party of Nepal Maoists (UCPN- M) were sworn in Saturday night an oath taking ceremony at Shital Niwas, Nepal’s President House.
As per the agreement, the cabinet will comprise 27 members with six ministers from each political party and two from the smaller political parties.
The new cabinet comprises of two deputy prime ministers one of UCPN-M and UDMF. Likewise, there are four ministers from UCPN-M and four from UDMF each.
The ministers from UDMF have already been assigned the portfolios. One member of the UDMF has not yet been sworn in for not being present in the capital city of Kathmandu.
Similarly, two ministers from NC have been nominated but are yet to be assigned any portfolio.
Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) has not yet recommended any names for the ministers. It was involved in intense discussion until late night Saturday and said that the names would be announced Sunday.
The portfolios for Home Ministry, Defence Ministry, Health Ministry, Ministry for Physical Planning, Ministry for Information and Communications and Irrigation Ministry belongs to UDMF.
NC, however, recommended only two names owing to the inter-party conflict between two different factions of the party.
Meanwhile, the first meeting for the cabinet held after the oath taking ceremony decided to reconstitute many of the portfolios. It also expressed deep sorrow over the victims of the natural disaster that struck in Annapurna range and Seti River Saturday.
–Indo-Asian News Series
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