PM's plan to expand cabinet rejected

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal´s plan to expand his cabinet has received yet another blow after the party´s standing committee meeting on Sunday rejected his proposal to give the cabinet a full shape by keeping the home portfolio for himself.

According to the leaders, the meeting instead decided to hold “decisive” talks with the Maoists and make a last-ditch attempt to convince them to join the government without the home portfolio.

The prime minister was all set to expand his three-member cabinet by getting his plan endorsed at the party´s standing committee meeting.

“But he couldn´t as KP Sharma Oli and Bidya Bhandari strongly objected to his proposal,” said one of the committee members close to Khanal. Oli and Bhandari insisted that the party should not change its previous decision to appoint Bishnu Paudel as home minister even if the stalemate prolongs further.

According to the committee member, only Oli and Bhandari in the 11-member standing committee spoke openly against allowing the prime minister to give full shape to the cabinet by bringing the Maoists on board.

Though former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is strongly against Maoists heading the security-related ministries, he was for clearing the way for the prime minister to expand the cabinet if he kept the home portfolio himself.

At the meeting, leaders close to Khanal had argued that the country shouldn´t be held hostage just for awarding a key ministry to a particular leader.

However, members from Nepal-Oli camp put their counterargument stating it was not an issue of an individual. “If Maoists are ready to accept prime minister heading the home ministry, why don´t they accept another leader [Paudel] from the same party,” a leader from Nepal-Oli camp said. He said it would make no substantial difference whether Khanal or Paudel heads the ministry as both the leaders are from the UML.

“Maoists should accept UML leadership in the security-related ministries in the present context. UML´s decision regarding who should lead such ministries from the party is final,” the leader said.

The leaders discussed other options as well at the meeting. Some had suggested allowing the prime minister to run the government effectively by giving two or three ministries to each of the three ministers, while some other leaders were for expanding the cabinet by distributing portfolios among UML leaders if the Maoists take more time. Ministers Bishnu Paudel and Ganga Lal Tuladhar are still without portfolio due to the dispute over power-sharing with the Maoists.

“Finally the meeting decided to make a last-ditch attempt to convince the Maoists before taking any new move,” the leader said.

The meeting then entrusted the party´s talks team, which is headed by Khanal himself, to hold “decisive” dialogues with the Maoists. Former Prime Minister Nepal, Oli and General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel are members of the committee.

The Maoists have been sticking to their stance of not joining the cabinet as long as they are given the home portfolio. As a mid-way solution, the prime minister came up with the idea of heading the ministry himself until some of the key issues related to the peace process are resolved.

Maoist leader Shakti Basnet, who is close to Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, said his party will not join the government without the home portfolio. “There is no possibility of joining the cabinet without the home portfolio,” Basnet said.

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