Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KATHMANDU468
2009-06-05 05:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:
NEPAL: PRIME MINISTER EXPANDS HIS CABINET
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C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000468
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: PRIME MINISTER EXPANDS HIS CABINET
REF: A. KATHMANDU 464
B. KATHMANDU 437
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Randy W. Berry. Reasons 1.4 (b/
d).
Cabinet Expanded
----------------
C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000468
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: PRIME MINISTER EXPANDS HIS CABINET
REF: A. KATHMANDU 464
B. KATHMANDU 437
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Randy W. Berry. Reasons 1.4 (b/
d).
Cabinet Expanded
--------------
1. (SBU) On June 4, in the presence of President Ram Baran
Yadav, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal swore in eight
additional ministers. Prime Minister Nepal (Communist Party
of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist or UML) named Bijay
Gachchhadar, parliamentary leader of the Madhesi People's
Rights Forum (MPRF),to be Deputy Prime Minister.
Gachchhadar was also appointed Minister for Physical Planning
and Works, the same position he held in the previous
Maoist-led government. Sujata Koirala, daughter of the
Nepali Congress (NC) party president, was sworn in as
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ref A). Dambar Shrestha, from
the Communist Party of Nepal - Marxist Leninist (ML),took
the oath of office along with five other NC ministers -- Uma
Kant Chaudhary, Bal Krishna Khand, Prakash Sharan Mahat,
Minendra Rijal, and Purna Kumar Sherma -- but the six have
yet to be assigned a portfolio. (Note: Once the full cabinet
takes shape, Surendra Pandey and Bidhya Bhandari, both of
UML, and previously named as Finance and Defense Ministers,
may be assigned new portfolios.)
Comment
--------------
2. (C) On June 3, the 22 parties in the Constituent Assembly
(CA) that support M.K. Nepal's coalition government approved
a common minimum program. Nevertheless, many challenges
remain. The UML was expected to fill out its positions in
the cabinet on June 4, but it could not finalize the names --
allegedly due to disputes between supporters of party
president Jhalanath Khanal and his party rival K.P. Oli. The
faction of the MPRF headed by chairman Upendra Yadav has
reportedly started a signature campaign to overturn the
government decision making Gachchhadar Deputy PM and
attempted, unsuccessfully, on June 4 to lock Gachchhadar out
of the main party office in Kathmandu. Congress leaders
disgruntled about Sujata Koirala's elevation continue to
grouse publicly. Meanwhile, the Maoists have been
obstructing the CA's parliamentary sessions and have
organized protest programs against President Yadav's
reinstatement of Chief of Army Staff Katawal in Kathmandu and
in districts across the country.
POWELL
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: PRIME MINISTER EXPANDS HIS CABINET
REF: A. KATHMANDU 464
B. KATHMANDU 437
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Randy W. Berry. Reasons 1.4 (b/
d).
Cabinet Expanded
--------------
1. (SBU) On June 4, in the presence of President Ram Baran
Yadav, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal swore in eight
additional ministers. Prime Minister Nepal (Communist Party
of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist or UML) named Bijay
Gachchhadar, parliamentary leader of the Madhesi People's
Rights Forum (MPRF),to be Deputy Prime Minister.
Gachchhadar was also appointed Minister for Physical Planning
and Works, the same position he held in the previous
Maoist-led government. Sujata Koirala, daughter of the
Nepali Congress (NC) party president, was sworn in as
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ref A). Dambar Shrestha, from
the Communist Party of Nepal - Marxist Leninist (ML),took
the oath of office along with five other NC ministers -- Uma
Kant Chaudhary, Bal Krishna Khand, Prakash Sharan Mahat,
Minendra Rijal, and Purna Kumar Sherma -- but the six have
yet to be assigned a portfolio. (Note: Once the full cabinet
takes shape, Surendra Pandey and Bidhya Bhandari, both of
UML, and previously named as Finance and Defense Ministers,
may be assigned new portfolios.)
Comment
--------------
2. (C) On June 3, the 22 parties in the Constituent Assembly
(CA) that support M.K. Nepal's coalition government approved
a common minimum program. Nevertheless, many challenges
remain. The UML was expected to fill out its positions in
the cabinet on June 4, but it could not finalize the names --
allegedly due to disputes between supporters of party
president Jhalanath Khanal and his party rival K.P. Oli. The
faction of the MPRF headed by chairman Upendra Yadav has
reportedly started a signature campaign to overturn the
government decision making Gachchhadar Deputy PM and
attempted, unsuccessfully, on June 4 to lock Gachchhadar out
of the main party office in Kathmandu. Congress leaders
disgruntled about Sujata Koirala's elevation continue to
grouse publicly. Meanwhile, the Maoists have been
obstructing the CA's parliamentary sessions and have
organized protest programs against President Yadav's
reinstatement of Chief of Army Staff Katawal in Kathmandu and
in districts across the country.
POWELL