Nepal PM expands cabinet under siege

Nepal News.Net
Friday 3rd July, 2009 (IANS)

Given only a couple more weeks by the Maoists and unable to table the budget in parliament due to their opposition, Nepal's beleaguered Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Friday expanded his cabinet in a surprise move, inducting two more ministers.

With this fourth expansion, the cabinet now has 32 ministers with yet another induction in the pipeline.

The new ministers include Rajendra Mahato of the Terai party, Sadbhavana Party that had earlier refused to join the coalition government following a disagreement over power-sharing. Mahato, who was commerce and supplies minister in the earlier Maoist government, has been given the same portfolio.

The other surprise addition is Prem Bahadur Singh, whose Samajwadi Prajatantrik Janata Party makes its debut in the government. Singh was appointed law and justice minister.

While the PM enlarged his cabinet, the Maoists kept up their siege of parliament, preventing the house from sitting Friday.

The former rebels have kept up their blockade of the house since May 5.

Their senior leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai Friday said that his party would not allow the President, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, to table the budget and policies of the government.

If the budget is not presented by mid-July, the new government will face a huge funds crunch.

Bhattarai said keeping that in mind, his party however has agreed to allow the tabling of an interim budget that can be effective for two to three months.

However, new Finance Minister Surendra Pandey ruled out tabling an ad hoc budget, saying the government would not present a budget if it was not accompanied by its policies.

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