Dr. Sangita Mishra, who had already been offered the position of Health Minister, was stripped of the appointment after allegations of corruption emerged. Mishra, a former Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Health, had resigned from her post in preparation for her ministerial role.
Prime Minister Sushila Karki halted Mishra’s appointment after learning that the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) was investigating multiple complaints against her. As a result, only four ministers were sworn in at the Presidential Office (Sheetal Niwas) on Monday, and the oath-taking ceremony was delayed by an hour following the last-minute removal of Mishra’s name.
The four sworn-in ministers are:
- Mahabir Pun – Minister of Education, Science, and Technology
- Anil Kumar Sinha – Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, and Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation
- Dr. Madan Pariyar – Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development
- Jagadish Kharel – Minister of Communications and Information Technology
The ceremony had initially been postponed by a day due to the controversy surrounding Mishra’s nomination. Reports indicate that during her tenure as Director General of the Department of Health Services, Mishra approved payment for a mammogram machine that was delivered only as an empty box and was also involved in other questionable medical equipment procurement deals currently under CIAA investigation.
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