National 1 (Spotlight Weekly)

Mixed Bag

The nature and the contour of the cabinet exposes Deuba’s compulsions

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

For a person who could not survive even by cobbling up near 50 member cabinet in the past, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba would have a tough time reining in his multi-color cabinet members who are drawn by conflicting interests and loyal to different power centers.

One indication of the tough road ahead for Deuba was apparent when Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) criticized him a day after he unveiled his 31-member cabinet, which materialized after 33-days long exercise.

“I had told him not to exceed the cabinet size beyond 27 and we had sent our representatives with that number in mind,” Nepal said.

Furthermore, Nepal made it pretty clear who was in the driving seat – as far as the UML ministers are concerned – by preaching the newly appointed ministers of the UML at the party headquarters in Balkhu.

In a manner that smacked of transgressing the PM’s prerogative Nepal asked them not to indulge in corrupt behavior and keep their clean image intact. He not only asked the ministers to make their property statements public within a week but also warned to recall them if they did not follow his orders.

In what appears to be the incurable disease of instability of Nepalese politics, even before the ministers were administered the oath of office, there were voices of discord within some of the ruling parties.

Most notable was the discontent within the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) whose chairman Badri Prasad Mandal accepted the post of Forest Ministry himself even though he is a past deputy prime minister. “We are extremely disappointed and enraged at his behavior. He has exposed extreme lust for power and has brought shame to whole of the Madhesi community,” said Mrigendra Kumar Yadav, the second-in-command of the NSP.

Likewise, the RPP spokesperson Roshan Karki, who was apparently hoping to be appointed a minister herself, spewed venom at her party chief Pashupati SJB Rana. “We are going to seek clarifications from him. If we are not satisfied, we will take the democratic course,” she said.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s 31-member Council of Ministers include 19 cabinet rank ministers. The UML team leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari has been appointed as the deputy prime minister as well as finance minister. Among the cabinet ministers, Nepali Congress (Democratic) has bagged 7 berths including the Prime Ministership. Likewise, the UML has bagged 7 berths including the deputy prime ministership; the Rastriya Prajatantra party (RPP) has bagged two berths; the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) has bagged one berth; and two independents – Dr. Mohamad Mohasin and Krishna Lal Thakali – are also included in the cabinet.

By including the independent ministers – who are said to be close to the palace – PM Deuba has exposed another weakness. “Although one cannot be certain whether they were appointed as per the palace directive or not; if it is so, then it will reflect poorly on the palace. The whole of the government is called His Majesty’s Government. There is no need to seek separate cabinet berths for the palace,” said a political analyst.

PM Deuba has also appointed eight state ministers and four assistant ministers. NC (D) has bagged the posts of two state ministers and three assistant ministers whereas the UML has bagged three state ministers and one assistant minister. The RPP has also bagged the posts of three state minister. There are three women in the 31-member council of ministers including one cabinet rank, one state and one assistant minister.

Now that Deuba has expanded his cabinet, he will need to concentrate on cracking the tough nut called Maoists. As he has committed, he needs to honestly attempt to end the conflict before holding the elections. Otherwise, as analysts believe, this government will not cross the average age of the past successive governments that ruled the country.

The division of portfolios of Deuba cabinet is as follows:

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba (including portfolios of Royal Palace, Defense and Foreign Affairs) – NC (D)

Deputy PM Bharat Mohan Adhikari (Finance) - UML

Dr. Mohammad Mohsin (Information and Communication) - Independent

Badri Prasad Mandal (Forest and Soil Conservation) - NSP

Balaram Ghartimagar (Science and Technology) – RPP

Bimalendra Nidhi (Education and Sports) – NC (D)

Prakash Man Singh (Works and Physical Planning) – NC (D)

Ashok Kumar Rai (Health) – UML

Purna Bahadur Khadka (Home) – NC (D)

Deep Kumar Upadhyaya (Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation) – NC (D)

Ishwor Pokharel (Industry, Commerce and Supplies) – UML

Yubaraj Gyawali (Local Development) – UML

Jog Meher Shrestha (Land Reforms and Management) – RPP

Hom Nath Dahal (Agriculture and Cooperatives) – NC (D)

Raghuji Panta (Labor and Transport Management) – UML

Bachaspati Devkota (Population and Environment) – UML

Mrs Ashtalaxmi Shakya (Women, Children and Social Welfare) – UML

Tek Bahadur Chokhyal (Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs) – NC (D)

Krishna Lal Thakali (General Administration) – Independent

Ministers of State:

Thakur Prasad Sharma (Water Resources) – RPP

Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat (Foreign Affairs) – NC (D)

Krishna Gopal Shrestha (Local Development) – UML

Bal Krishna Khand (Education and Sports) – NC (D)

Urba Dutta Panta (Labor and Transport Management) – UML

Dr. Banshidhar Mishra (Health) – UML

Mrs Prativa Rana (Science and Technology) – RPP

Ram Chandra Raya (Land Reforms and Management) – RPP

Assistant Ministers:

Uma Kanta Adhikari (Agriculture and Cooperatives) – NC (D)

Lal Bahadur Biswokarma (Population and Environment) – UML

Hari Shankar Pariyar (Works and Physical Planning) – NC (D)

Mrs Bhim Kumari Budha Magar (Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation) – NC (D)