KATHMANDU, JULY 11

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has recently been preparing to reshuffle his Cabinet.

Sources said the reshuffle was being done to include Janmat Party in the government.

Preparation is on to give a ministerial portfolio to Janmat Party, which has been demanding the Ministry of Urban Development.

'Prime Minister Dahal has promised to bring Janmat Party into the government as soon as possible.

But it has become difficult for him to decide who to remove to accommodate Janmat party in the government,' said Chandan Singh, Janmat party member.

He also said, 'The PM has come up with the idea of changing the ministries run by his party and keeping some and removing others.'

According to him, discussions are being held to remove some ministers and give new responsibilities to them, while there are complaints that the work of other ministers is not up to the mark, except Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayankaji Shrestha's work.

There is also talk that CPN-MC Deputy General Secretary Barshman Pun and leader Janardhan Sharma will be joining the government.

Among them, Prime Minister Dahal is said to be in the mood to bring Deputy Secretary General Pun to the government. Even before this, the prime minister wanted to bring Barshman Pun to the government, but he said that hewould not participate in a government in which Rabi Lamichhane was the deputy prime minister.

As Rabi Lamichhane is now not in the government, sources have claimed that Prime Minister Dahal wants Barshman Pun as a minister because he needs a minister who is result-oriented and will bring the work of the government to fruition.

However, Pun's personal secretary Santosh Pun said Barshaman Pun was not in the mood to join the government.

He said that if Prime Minister Dahal says he must join, he can give it some thought.

Santosh made it clear that Barshaman Pun does not want to become a minister by removing a minister from his own party.

The prime minister is holding discussion with leaders close to him regarding Cabinet reshuffle.

According to Prime Minister Dahal's private secretariat sources, instead of changing all the ministries that the CPN-MC has, discussions are on regarding removal of one person and bringing Janmat party into the government.

Sources in the secretariat said that preparations are under way to remove Federal Affairs and General Administration Minister Amanlal Modi and replace him with a Janmat Party leader.

According to Chandan Singh, Prime Minister Dahal has promised to bring the Janmat Party in the government by any means. He said, 'The prime minister has said that you should not panic in the discussion with us, I am managing it, and I will make place for Janmat Party soon.'

A version of this article appears in the print on July 12, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.