The dialogue between the government team and Dr Govinda KC’s representatives ended without any conclusion on Wednesday after the government team left the dialogue saying they need further discussion on the issue of amending medical education bill.
Dr Avishek Raj Singh told Setopati that the government team left at around three in the afternoon after the talks entered amendment of the bill saying they need further consultation promising to get back after an hour. "We have now come out after they refused to talk about the bill even after returning two hours later," Dr Singh said.
Dr Singh has since issued a statement accusing the government of dallying with an intention of putting Dr KC's life at risk. The statement adds Dr KC's representatives will not sit for another round of dialogue until the government expresses commitment to amend the bill as per the points submitted to the government.
Doctors involved in monitoring of Dr KC's health, meanwhile, have issued a statement of their own stating that his health has deteriorated drastically and warned that he may lose consciousness anytime.
"His white blood cells (WBC) count has fallen to the lowest level till now and he can lose consciousness anytime due to very low blood glucose level," the statement says. "Level of potassium in the blood is very low. His blood pressure is very low and the heart beat is also very slow. His heart may stop beating anytime. There can be serious problem at any time due to lack of coordination in heart beat and blood pressure."
The meeting between the two sides Tuesday night had also failed to reach an agreement on amendment of the medical education bill registered in the parliament by the government.
Dr KC's representatives met Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Subas Chandra Nembang Wednesday morning to put forward their demands for amendment. Nembang then briefed Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli about that meeting and Oli then called Chairman of Nepal Medical Council Dr Dharma Bhakta Baskota, and coordinator of the Mathema task force Kedar Bhakta Mathema to discuss the issue.
The government dialogue team reportedly started the dialogue Wednesday afternoon with mandate from PM Oli but it evidently did not have mandate to agree on amendment of the bill.
Oli had discussed Dr KC’s demands and amendment of the bill with CPN leaders throughout Tuesday morning, and talked with Baskota and Mathema in the afternoon.
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 was authorized to technically resolve the issue of amending the bill.
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 26
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 few 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.
