DANG, February 11: CPN-UML MP Leela Giri took office as Chief Minister of the Lumbini Provincial Government on January 11. The government of the province of Lumbini is completed only 1 month after she took office as Chief Minister. The swearing-in time for the new ministers has been set for tomorrow at 1 in the morning. For the Cabinet expansion, the parties have not been able to make a decision on who will be appointed minister even after the timing of the distribution of ministries and the swearing in among the ruling coalition parties has been decided.
It has been agreed that CPN-UML will take 5 ministries including Chief Minister, CPN-Maoist Center will take 3 ministries, Rashtriya Prajatantra Party and Janamat Party will take 1 ministry each. The CPN-UML has taken over the Ministry of Rural and Urban Development, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives together with the Chief Minister. Similarly, the Maoist center has the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Law and Communications, and the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development. Similarly, the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party got the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Land Planning, and the Janamat Party got the responsibility of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment.
A member of parliament from the ruling coalition party said: “Although the ministry has been finalized, the parties have not yet decided who the ministers will be.” Because of this, although the question of which party should be given which ministry has been answered, it has not been revealed who has been given the responsibility of which ministry.
In the Lumbini Provincial Assembly there are 29 deputies elected from the CPN-UML, 9 from the CPN-Maoist Center, 4 from the RPP and 3 from the Janamat Party. Elected deputies from the ruling coalition party are rushing to become ministers. The parties are preparing to send the names of the ministers to the provincial headquarters this afternoon.
