KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 25
Following the revelation that Prime Minister Sushila Karki's Chief Personal Secretary, Adarsh Shrestha, appointed his wife and family members to the secretariat, Gen Z leaders and public have raised nepotism issues once again.
While the PM secretariat, in a press statement, defended the appointment as necessary due to family circumstances, Gen Z leaders have demanded resignations.
Taking to social media, Gen Z leader Rakshya Bam wrote: "'Transparency and accountability' were our main demands. The civic government must become transparent and accountable to the people. Adarsh Shrestha should be removed from the office immediately, and appointments he made while encouraging nepotism and favouritism should be revoked."
Shrestha, who was working as a computer operator in the rank of Nayab Subba (Non-Gazetted First Class Officer) in the Information Technology (IT) Division of the Supreme Court, was appointed as Prime Minister Karki's chief personal secretary on September 14.
Prime Minister Karki appointed Shrestha as her personal secretary immediately after assuming office. He has since stepped down from his duties at the Supreme Court. Shrestha then appointed his wife, Sangeeta Shrestha, as a joint secretary-level personal secretary on September 18.
He is accused of having appointed other relatives also in the secretariat. However, it has not been explicitly confirmed that he has appointed anyone other than his wife.
Adarsh had been working in the Supreme Court for over a decade. He was a contractual employee. He was criticised for being appointed to the IT Division despite not having an IT background.
Supreme Court sources who worked with Adarsh told THT that he worked in the private secretariat during the tenure of former Chief Justices Kalyan Shrestha and Sushila Karki. At the time, the Supreme Court did not use a digital or lottery-based system to assign cases, as it does now. Previously, the Chief Justice assigned cases. The Chief Justice's private secretariat was responsible for publishing the finalised case list.
The secretariat would take the case list to the Supreme Court's notice board and post it. During that time, there were allegations that some members of the private secretariat, including Adarsh, informed the relevant litigants before the case list was published.
"There was uproar against the activities of Adarsh Shestha," the source said. "He used to reveal the case list before it was published and this often created problems. The lottery system was introduced following his interference and irregularities."
According to the sources, Adarsh was paid more than the law allowed while working in the SC with Karki. "His position was that of first class (Nayab Subba), while he was paid section officer- level salary."
After Gopal Parajuli was appointed Chief Justice, Adarsh was removed from the private secretariat and assigned as computer operator at the level of Nayab Subba, according to Supreme Court sources. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office stated that the government is prioritising austerity, transparency and accountability. Due to Prime Minister Karki's familial situation, a trusted person capable of providing close support has been appointed as her personal secretary, according to a statement issued today by the Prime Minister's Press Coordinator Ram Bahadur Rawal.
"The prime minister has chosen and appointed a trusted person to provide family support to the prime minister, who, along with her husband, is of old age," reads the statement.
"Since the prime minister requires close support and a person who can work with her around the clock at her residence, it is requested that no questions or interpretations be raised regarding the legal appointment of a person who is trustworthy, reliable and can work day and night, including for security reasons."
The statement also made public the data on the secretariat's available posts and actual appointments, stating, "Although there is a provision for seven advisors, only two are currently appointed. Only four out of 19 expert employees are working, and one is unpaid. The private secretariat has 41 positions, but only 14 people work there. Thus, only 20 of the total 67 posts have been assigned to the secretariat for essential and mandatory work."
