Even after completing 78 days in office, Labor Minister Ramji Yadav has failed to deliver results that the public can clearly see or feel. Now, he has suffered another setback after losing the election for his party’s Central Committee membership.
Khoj Samachar has consistently questioned his performance. In fact, we had already published two detailed reports on June 9 and June 11, explaining why the RSP-led Balen government should consider replacing the Labor Minister without delay.
Today marks 92 days since the formation of the Balen government. The government had promised to deliver significant results within its first 100 days. However, if cabinet ministers fail to produce action-oriented outcomes, the government’s credibility itself could come under serious pressure.
RSP secured 182 seats in the Falgun 21 election largely because of the overwhelming support from Nepalis working abroad. In many ways, overseas Nepalis have been the backbone of the party’s electoral success.
Ironically, the ministry that directly deals with the concerns of millions of Nepali migrant workers is the Ministry of Labor. Yet after 78 days in office, Minister Ramji Yadav has failed to demonstrate any major achievements.
While fellow minister Sudan Gurung has introduced visible reforms within his ministry over the past three months, the Labor Ministry has largely been known only for raiding a handful of manpower companies. Beyond that, the public has seen very little meaningful action.
For the Balen government to succeed, for foreign employment scams worth billions of rupees to be controlled, for fraudulent manpower operators to be held accountable under the law, and for the expectations of millions of Nepalis working abroad to be fulfilled, we believe the government should replace the Labor Minister without further delay.
Party Election Defeat Raises Moral Questions
Following his defeat in the party’s Central Committee election, Minister Yadav now finds himself facing a serious moral challenge.
During the RSP General Convention, eight cabinet ministers contested for Central Committee membership. While the other seven were successfully elected Ramji Yadav was the only minister who failed to secure a position.
Legally, losing an internal party election does not require a minister to resign. After all, Ramji Yadav is an elected Member of Parliament who defeated Janamat Party Chairman and influential Madhesh leader CK Raut from Saptari-2 during the Falgun 21 election.
Therefore, his legal authority to continue serving as Labor Minister remains intact. However, politics is not guided only by law. It is also shaped by political morality.
Nepali politics already has an important precedent.
During the Nepali Congress 14th General Convention in 2021, then Defense Minister Minendra Rijal contested for the post of General Secretary from Shekhar Koirala’s panel.
When the votes were counted, Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma emerged victorious, while Dr. Rijal finished in fifth place with significantly fewer votes.
Even before the final results were officially announced, Rijal publicly declared that he would resign. Immediately after the results became official, he met then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and submitted his resignation as Defense Minister.
At the time, Rijal stated:
“The election results have clearly shown that my support base within the party has narrowed. Under such circumstances, my conscience does not allow me to remain a minister.”
This does not necessarily mean that every minister who loses an internal election must resign. Nevertheless, Nepal has already witnessed a precedent where a minister stepped down on moral grounds after an internal party defeat. Naturally, this raises similar questions for Minister Ramji Yadav.
Why the Labor Ministry’s Performance Is Being Questioned
The party election defeat is only one part of the discussion. A much bigger concern is that after 78 days in office, the Labor Ministry has still failed to produce results that ordinary citizens can clearly experience. Foreign employment remains one of Nepal’s most corruption-prone sectors.
Every day, around 4,000 to 6,000 Nepalis leave the country in search of overseas employment. Sadly, a significant number of them become victims of fraud at different stages of the process.
Some are cheated inside Nepal by agents and manpower companies. Others face exploitation after reaching foreign countries. Many workers are forced to pay between NPR 300,000 and 500,000 for jobs that should cost only a fraction of that amount.
Even after arriving abroad, many fail to receive the jobs they were promised, some are denied their salaries, and in certain cases women have become victims of trafficking.
Only recently, Khoj Samachar exposed a case involving Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia who were allegedly cheated while purchasing return air tickets.
Despite these widespread irregularities, the Ministry of Labor has yet to introduce an effective system capable of protecting migrant workers or preventing large-scale fraud.
As a result, thousands of Nepalis continue to become victims every single day. Whether Labor Minister Ramji Yadav will choose to accept political responsibility or not remains to be seen.
However, if he chooses not to step aside voluntarily, we believe RSP should recall him and appoint a more capable lawmaker to lead the Ministry of Labor.
This is not a new position for Khoj Samachar. We have repeatedly raised this issue over the past several weeks. In our assessment, Baglung MP Som Sharma is currently the strongest candidate to lead the Ministry of Labor.
To understand why Khoj Samachar believes Som Sharma is the most suitable choice, you can read our detailed report here.
