By Bernama,
Kathmandu : Nepal’s new Premier Prachanda is expected to unveil a 15-member Cabinet, including Madhesi People Rights Forum (M.P.R.F.) leader Upendra Yadav as Foreign Minister and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), (C.P.N.-U.M.L.)’s Bam Dev Gautam as Home Minister,ahead of his China visit beginning Saturday.
Press Trust of India (PTI)reported that a three-party meeting involving leaders of CPN-Maoist, C.P.N.-U.M.L. and M.P.R.F. finalised the names of the ministers who would be administered the oath of office by Prachanda and an announcement in this regard is expected shortly.
However, the full-fledged Cabinet is likely to be announced after Prachanda returns from his five-day visit to China where he will attend the closing ceremony of Olympics, sources close to Maoists said. He is likely to expand the Cabinet up to 24 in strength and include one minister eachfrom four small parties.
Prachanda’s Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (C.P.N.-M) has finalised four names –Baburam Bhattarai for Finance Minister’s post, Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal for Defence Minister, Krishna Bahadur Mahara for Information and Communication Minister and Dev Gurung for Law and Justice Minister. Other five Maoist ministers will be named later on, Maoist leaderJanardan Sharma said.
Bam Dev Gautam will lead the C.P.N.-U.M.L. team as Home Minister. Other ministers from the party include Water Resources Minister Bishnu Poudyal, Local Development Minister Ramchandra Jha, Forest Minister Kiran Gurung, Industry and Commerce Minister Ashta Laxmi Shakya and Youth and SportsMinister Gopal Shakya, the sources said.
Upendra Yadav, President of M.P.R.F., will lead his partyin the Cabinet with the portfolio of Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The party has also bagged the portfolios of Physical Planning, Agriculture and Supply but is is yet to finalise the names ofthose who would get these ministries.
The Maoists, C.P.N.-U.M.L. and M.P.R.F. Thursday agreed on a common minimum programme (C.M.P.) and code of conduct forthe new Maoists-led government.
Under the C.M.P., the parties agreed to settle the issue of integration of the Maoist combatants with the Nepal Army within six months and to formulate a security policy bysetting up a high-level security commission.
The parties also agreed to immediately form the Disappearance Commission and Truth and ReconciliationCommission as pledged in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Prachanda will leave for Beijing tomorrow leading a 10-member delegation to participate in the closing ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing and the government will take fullshape after he returns home.