Minister for Forestry Badri Prasad Mandal and General Administration Minister Krishna Lal Thakali nearly had a fistfight in the cabinet meeting on 3 January. The bone of contention was the appointment of the director general for the Department of Forestry. During the cabinet meeting, Mandal nominated Sharad Rai but Thakali said Rai was a junior official and did not merit the position. No sooner had Thakali made the remark when Mandal spat out it was none of his (Thakali's) business anyway, and he (Mandal) could do whatever he liked in his ministry. Mandal even threatened to resign if he did not get to appoint the person of his choice. Thakali argued it was not fair to use his resignation as a bargaining chip. According to sources in the cabinet, the debate grew heated and the two ministers nearly came to blows. Prime Minister Deuba had a tough time mediating.