Pokhara, October 28

Gandaki Province Chief Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung today said that the federal government responsible for the rift between the federal and the provincial governments. He also said that the delay in drafting the bill on employees and their deployment had created problems for the provincial governments.

Inaugurating Community-Police Partnership programme organised by the police headquarters in collaboration with Gandaki Province Police Office and District Police Office, Kaski, in Pokhara, CM Gurung said province government would make a law related to the appointments and deployment of government employees if the federal government further delayed the process of drafting the bill.

“Chief ministers of other provinces too will protest if the central government makes further delay in drafting the bill. The central government has to delegate powers to the provincial governments as soon as possible,” CM Gurung stated.

Stating that it was the responsibility of the provincial government to provide security within the provincial territory, Gurung argued that provincial governments should have the authority to appoint and deploy police personnel at the provincial level.

Gurung stressed the need to democratise the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and civil servants. “We are practising federal system. We shall learn from the mistakes and run the government smoothly,” Gurung stated.

Gurung said politicisation of the police organisation had started ever since rulers in party-less Panchayat system used police to stay in power. He blamed the political parties for tarnishing the image and credibility of the police organisation. “People have to be aware and come out to control  incidents of rape, violence and murder in society,” he said.

At the programme, Minister of Internal Affairs and Law Hari Bahadur Chuman said his ministry

was preparing to launch strategic security plans and programmes

to maintain law and order in the province.