Twenty-two members Council of Ministers formed, sworn-in

Kathmandu, July 16: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli took the oath of office and secrecy on Monday. President Ramchandra Paudel administered the oath at the President’s Office amidst a special ceremony. 

PM Oli, chairman of the CPN-UML party, was appointed Prime Minister by the President on Sunday under Article 76, Clause (2) of the Constitution of Nepal.

He was appointed the executive head of the government with the backing of MPs from the CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the House of Representatives.

Apart from the Nepal Congress and CPN-UML, Janata Samajwadi Party and Loktantrik Samajwadi Party have also joined the new government formed under Oli.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli formed a 22-member Cabinet, including two Deputy Prime Ministers, on Monday.

Shortly after PM Oli's swearing-in, President Paudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed ministers.

Prakash Man Singh of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML’s Bishnu Prasad Paudel have been appointed Deputy Prime Ministers. They are given the portfolios of the Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Finance, respectively.

Likewise, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak has been appointed as the Minister for Home Affairs while Dr. Arzu Rana has been given the portfolio of Foreign Affairs.

Deepak Khadka, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Ajaya Chaurasiya, Ministry of Law, Justice, and Federal Affairs, Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, Ministry of Forest and Environment, and Teju Lal Chaudhary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, are other ministers appointed from the Nepali Congress.

Pradip Paudel, Badri Prasad Pandey and Ramnath Adhikari from the Shekhar Koirala faction of the Nepal Congress have assumed office as Ministers for Health and Population; Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation; and Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development, respectively.

From the UML, Deputy General Secretary Prithvi Subba Gurung has been appointed as the Minister for Communication and Information Technology. Gurung is the former Chief Minister of Gandaki Province.

UML's Rajkumar Gupta has become Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration while Manbir Rai has been appointed as the Defence Minister. Balaram Adhikari of the CPN-UML has been appointed as Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation and Damodar Bhandari as Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies.

UML’s Bidhya Bhattarai has been given the portfolio of Education, Science and Technology and Devendra Dahal Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

Similarly, Sarat Singh Bhandari of the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party has been appointed as the Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security.

Janata Samajawadi Party leaders Nawal Kishore Sah Sudi and Pradeep Yadav are appointed as Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens and the Minister for Drinking Water, respectively.