Secy-level govt talks team can neither take necessary decisions nor can it withdraw the Medical Education Bill — Om Prakash Aryal, Advocate

Kathmandu, July 20

Although the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leaders had said that the government would hold talks with Dr Govinda KC in the capital after admitting him to CCU, the government has not held talks since yesterday.

Talks could not be held mainly because the government did not meet Dr KC’s demand to form a high-level talks team under the health minister to hold talks with him.

Dr KC, who was airlifted to Kathmandu from Jumla yesterday, where the orthopaedic surgeon had been staging hunger strike for 20 days, has said he is wary of holding talks with bureaucrats because they do not have the mandate to address his demands.

Dr KC’s key demands include passing medical education ordinance brought by the Sher Bahadur Deuba government as medical education bill without making any changes.

The ordinance includes Mathema committee’s recommendations, such as banning opening of new medical colleges in Kathmandu for 10 years, restricting a university from issuing more than five affiliations and requiring medical colleges to run their own hospitals for at least three years before getting affiliations.

Advocate Om Prakash Aryal, who is a member of Dr KC’s team authorised to hold talks with the government, said the government had not informed his team when it would hold talks with it.

He said Dr KC wanted to hold talks with a higher level talks team so that the team could address his demands.

“The government brought Dr KC to Kathmandu pledging that it would find a negotiated settlement to issues raised by Dr KC, but the government is not holding talks with him,” Aryal added.

“The secretary-level government talks team can neither take necessary decisions nor can it withdraw the Medical Education Bill. Therefore, Dr KC has demanded the formation of a high-level committee,” said Aryal.

Dr Abhishek Singh, coordinator of Dr KC’s talks team, said government authorities had not even contacted them after July 18. “The government used force to bring Dr KC from Jumla. The government did not inform us about their actions,” he added.

Meanwhile, Khaga Raj Baral, secretary at Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, who also leads the government talks team, said the government had been holding internal meetings and talks were uncertain till the next decision of the government on the matter.

Nepali Congress President and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and leader of Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal Mahantha Thakur visited Dr KC at TU Teaching Hospital to express solidarity

. After visiting the fasting doctor, Deuba tweeted: “Heath of Dr Govinda KC has been deteriorating. In a federal system even a single person is very powerful, but behind Dr KC there are lakhs. I urge the government to hold talks with Dr KC to save his life.”

Dr KC has refused further treatment at TU Teaching Hospital. Dr Abhishek said only saline water has been injected into his body. Dr KC has refused to take any other medication and to be seen by any doctor.

“Dr KC didn’t allow us to check him, although his health is deteriorating,” Dr Singh said. Dr KC has continued his hunger strike at TU Teaching Hospital.