KATHMANDU, JUNE 13
Province 2 Governor Rajesh Jha 'Ahiraj' has written a letter to Chief Minister M Lalbabu Raut reminding him that his newly reshuffled Cabinet was not inclusive.
Ahiraj's letter dated June 11 states that as per Article 168 (9), inclusion in the provincial Cabinet is mandatory.
"Although the Cabinet is formed on the recommendation of the provincial council of ministers, I, as governor of the province, have to okay the process. I am writing this letter to express my concerns about adherence to constitutional provisions,"
Ahiraj stated in his letter. He reminded the government of the need to ensure inclusion of women, Dalits, indigenous nationalities, and non-Madhesis.
The governor reminded the CM of the principle of inclusion contained in the preamble and Article 42 of the constitution.
Ahiraj said inclusion must be ensured in all bodies and processes of the state. He said provisions of Article 176 required that Cabinet should be inclusive.
He said Pahadis living in the province from time immemorial and other communities, including Dalits, Muslims, and women, should also have representation in the Cabinet. Jha said people of the province made sacrifices for federalism and if inclusion and proportional representation were not ensured, their sacrifices would go in vain.
After the Mahantha Thakur-Rajendra Mahato faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal joined Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, CM Raut removed ministers from the Thakur-Mahato faction and inducted new Nepali Congress lawmakers of the Provincial Assembly to replace them.
Chief Minister Raut said his attention was drawn to the concerns expressed by Governor Ahiraj but he could do nothing much about it, as he had to induct all those the coalition partner desired.
"We have fought for inclusion and we will be glad if all the state organs and institutions ensure proportional inclusion," he said.
He said the PM had also failed to ensure inclusion of women in the Cabinet and other groups in ambassadorial appointments.
Senior Advocate Mithilesh Kumar Singh said it was for coalition partners to ensure inclusion and the same principle applied to all provinces, as well as the federal government. He said other provinces didn't care about ensuring inclusion of Madhesis and even the federal government was violating the principle of inclusion in constitutional appointments and ambassadorial appointments. "I find Governor Jha's letter a little unexpected. Will the president also remind Oli to ensure inclusion in federal bodies?" he wondered.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 14, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
