Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli has convened a meeting at his official residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday to address Dr Govinda KC’s demands.
PM Oli has summoned leader of Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Subas Chandra Nembang, Chairman of Nepal Medical Council Dr Dharma Bhakta Baskota, and coordinator of the Mathema task force Kedar Bhakta Mathema to discuss the points that can be amended in the medical education bill registered by the government in the parliament.
Oli discussed Dr KC’s demands and amendment of the bill with CPN leaders throughout Tuesday morning, according to a CPN leader. “The leaders themselves have yet to converge on an agreement. It may, therefore, take some time to address the demands of Dr KC,” the leader told Setopati.
Nembang, Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali, Education Minister Girirraj Mani Pokharel and Attorney General Agni Kharel Monday afternoon had also talked about how to resolve the issue. Minister Gyawali left for a 10-day Europe visit after the meeting and Nembang has been authorized to technically resolve the issue of amending the bill. Nembang then called Mathema and Baskota for meeting in the night but the meeting could not take place.
Dr KC started his 15
th fast-unto-death in Jumla demanding that medical education law should be drafted on the basis of Mathema report. The preceding Sher Bahadur Deuba had brought an ordinance to address Dr KC’s demands but the current government brought a replacement bill removing some key provisions from the ordinance.
Dr KC, who is into the 25
th day of his fast now at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital after the government forcibly brought him to Kathmandu from Jumla on the 20
th day, has accused the government of bringing the bill with an intention of providing affiliation for medical college to four hospitals owned by businessmen close to the CPN.
The ordinance stopped establishment of new medical colleges in Kathmandu Valley for 10 years as demanded by Dr KC, limits granting of affiliation by a university to a maximum of five medical colleges, and allows affiliation to only those that have operated a hospital, taking permission from the Health Ministry, for three years among others.
The government last week had formed its dialogue team under Education Secretary Khaga Raj Baral and including joint secretaries at the home and health ministries.
Senior advocate Surendra Bhandari, advocate Om Prakash Aryal and Dr Avishek Raj Singh held dialogue with the government for two days on behalf of Dr KC, but both the meetings ended inconclusively after the government side repeated its stance that Dr KC should be brought to Kathmandu first and the medical education bill will not be withdrawn.
Dr KC then said he will not engage in dialogue with the government unless it takes back the medical education bill and sends a dialogue team with full mandate.
The government has been involved in informal talks with Dr KC and his dialogue team in the past couple of days.
Foreign Minister Gyawali had met Dr KC’s dialogue team on Saturday to discuss how the issue can be resolved. CPN leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha on Sunday reached TUTH to meet Dr KC and informally talked with Dr KC’s team at the place of fast.
CPN source confides that PM Oli now wants to address the issue by taking a decision for government’s procurement of Manmohan Hospital. “I will settle this issue even by buying Manmohan Hospital,” the source quoted PM Oli as saying.
The decision to sell Manmohan Hospital to Bir Hospital was also taken when Oli was PM for the first time. Agreement was reached to procure Manmohan Memorial Hospital in the name of Bir and to change Bir’s name to Manmohan Academy of Medical Sciences to end the fast of Dr KC then.
Promoters of Manmohan, leaders and cadres of the then CPN-UML, had also agreed to sell the hospital to the government. But the promoters including CPN leader Rajendra Pandey have made a volte-face and are refusing to sell the hospital to government saying they will open Manmohan Memorial Medical College instead.
