Dissatisfaction in the Congress over the selection of ministers

The June 29 meeting of the Central Working Committee of the Congress formulated the criteria for selecting the ministers, taking into account inclusiveness and regional balance on the main basis of contribution and merit. However, among the ten ministers sent by Congress, there is not a single person from Gandaki province, and the representation of Dalits in the Council of Ministers is zero. 13 MPs from Congress, including 10 directly elected from Gandaki and 3 from the National Assembly, are represented in the association. Not even one of them is in the cabinet.

Congress MP Rajendra Bajgai said that in the meeting of MPs, dissatisfaction was expressed that the Congress leadership neglected the state and inclusiveness. MP from Gandaki Province and Congress Vice President Dhanraj Gurung, Joint Chief Minister Jeevan Periyar, Central Member Shankar Bhandari, Kamala Pant, Raju Thapa, Rajendra Bajgain and other MPs were present in the meeting.

Mentioning that they have suffered huge losses in the past due to lack of united efforts within the party, they have stated that they will continue this campaign for united efforts keeping the prosperity of the province at the center. The gathering, issuing a statement, mentioned that serious attention has been drawn to the zero representation of Congress from Gandaki in the federal government. "We believe that the party will pay special attention in the coming days," the statement said.

Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba has given 7 ministries to his group and three ministries to leader Shekhar Koirala and General Minister Gagan Thapa. Deuba has made one of the 7 leaders close to President Ramchandra Paudel and one former Chief Minister Shashank Koirala as ministers. Tejulal Choudhary, an elected MP from Saptari-4 near the President, has become the Youth and Sports Minister. MP Deepak Khadka elected from Sankhuwasabha near Koirala has been made Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.

There is dissatisfaction within the party saying that Khadka, who invested in the hydropower sector, was made a minister in conflict with his interests. He has also been accused of grabbing the scout's land and not paying crores of rent. Bajgai said that MPs also expressed dissatisfaction with leader Shashank Koirala for recommending Khadka as a minister.

Congress co-general minister and member of the House of Representatives Jeevan Pariyar was rumored to be a minister but was denied at the last minute. Of the 9 lakh active members in the Congress, more than 45,000 members are from the Dalit community alone. However, the MPs said that this group has never been represented in the Council of Ministers.

On the one hand, Assistant Minister Pariyar was deprived of being a minister at the last moment. On the other hand, Khadka, who was involved in various cases, was recommended to the minister by a leader of Gandaki,'' a member of parliament who participated in the meeting said, 'Amidst the present disappointment, there was an opportunity to give a good message from the face of the minister. Congress has lost that.'

Speaker Deuba has sent Prakashman Singh, who has been a minister repeatedly from the Congress, to the Ministry of Urban Development along with the Deputy Prime Minister, while he has made Mrs. Arju Rana Deuba the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Similarly, Ajay Chaurasia, who is the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, was elected from Parsa, and Ain Bahadur Shahi, the Minister of Forest and Environment, became a minister from the establishment party. Shahi is a directly elected MP from Mugu.

Leader Shekhar Koirala and General Minister Gagan Thapa's party has appointed Badri Prasad Pandey as Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Pradeep Poudel as Minister of Health and Population and Ramnath Adhikari as Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development. Paudel was recommended by Thapa while Pandey and Adhikari were recommended by Neta Koirala.

Co-general minister Pariyar, who was deprived of becoming a minister, also belongs to the other party. The parliamentarians have also expressed displeasure with Koirala and Thapa, saying that they made the three members of the Khasarya community ministers without sending Pariyars from their own group. "We are constantly putting pressure to prevent such a situation from happening within the party in the future," Bajgain said.