Kathmandu: Dr. Govinda KC has demanded the immediate dismissal of the newly appointed Minister of State for Health Umesh Shrestha. On Tuesday, Dr. KC sent a six-point warning letter to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, demanding the immediate removal of Shrestha, who is in the health and education sectors.
KC has claimed that the initial activities of the government have already stoned the people who were expecting health care reform. 'A new government has been formed in the country. As in other areas, there are problems in medical education and health. We expected the new government to take the lead, even if it was limited. But the government's initial activities have already left people expecting health care reform. The warning letter addressed to the Prime Minister said, "The move to give responsibility to the management of private hospitals in the Ministry of Health is reprehensible and not acceptable to us, especially against the backdrop of the collapse of the country's public health system and the flourishing of private hospitals." No person with a conflict of interest should be appointed to the Ministry of Health, which also has a regulatory role in sensitive issues like health.
He also wished that businessmen or businessmen would never be able to bribe the leader or his family members to become MPs and ministers by stealing crores of rupees.
KC has demanded the implementation of all previous agreements. He has claimed that the medical mafias in Nepal have been tempting the new government since their return to power. He said, "Recent experience has confirmed the extreme political interference and inconsistency in placing the Prime Minister and Ministers in the Medical Education Commission. Therefore, in the current amendment, the provision that the chairperson of the commission should be the prime minister and the co-chairperson the minister of education and health should be removed and the responsibility of the chairperson should be given to the executive vice-chairperson.
KC has warned that if the government works in the interest of limited educational and medical mafia, it will carry out agitation including satyagraha. He also called on the government to ensure that tests, vaccines, treatment, and adequate treatment do not become a source of income as the risk of a third wave of the epidemic remains high.
Full text of the warning letter to the Prime Minister
Shri Sher Bahadur Deuba Jew, Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Singha Durbar.
A new government has been formed in the country. As in other areas, there are problems in medical education and health. We expected the new government to take the lead, even if it was limited. But the government's initial action has already left citizens expecting health care reform. Especially in the background of the collapse of the country's public health system and the flourishing of private hospitals, the move to give responsibility to the operators of private hospitals in the Ministry of Health is reprehensible and not acceptable to us. The Ministry of Health, which also has a regulatory role in sensitive issues such as health, should not appoint any person with a conflict of interest.
In this case, we have written this letter with the following demands to draw the attention of the government to the immediate, medium and long term work to be done to solve the problems in the field of health and medical education:
\1. The newly-appointed Minister of State for Health should either immediately withdraw from all his investments in the health and education sectors and end the conflict of interest. Otherwise, he should be dismissed immediately. From now on, businessmen or businessmen will never be able to bribe a leader or his family members to become MPs and ministers by stealing money, sinking public institutions, and committing political corruption by making laws that benefit their business.
\2. BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, has no choice but to move ahead with institutional reform by meeting all the demands of the ongoing movement. For that, the officials who have been found guilty of forgery and corruption should be dismissed immediately. After that, when appointing office-bearers in any university and establishment including BP Pratisthan, new office bearers should be appointed as per the recommendation of the office-bearers. For that, immediate legal arrangements should be made.
\3. Anyone who threatens the officials of the Medical Education Commission under the protection of the previous government to try to interfere illegally and threatens to physically attack the members of our campaign should be prosecuted according to the law.
\5. In Nepal, the medical mafias have been tempting the new government as soon as they return to power. The activities of the mafias close to the ruling party have increased in recent times. Many private medical colleges in the country are being taken over by a handful of criminal mafias. In the last election, some of them even got tickets from the main parties. We want to warn the new government in clear language: criminals and mafias have no political party or ideology. They should be punished no matter who they are. If the parties fight the election at their expense, the health and medical education of this country will never rise. The current corruption and criminalization of our politics will continue to grow. Therefore, they should not be rewarded with election tickets under any circumstances. Instead, since all medical colleges will be non-profit from 2085 BS, the mafias should be discouraged from taking medical education in Nepal in that direction from now on.
\6. All the agreements we have before this must be implemented. Among them is the amendment of the agreement of the Medical Education Act. Recent experience has confirmed the extreme political interference and inconsistency in the placement of the Prime Minister and Ministers in the Medical Education Commission. Therefore, in the current amendment, the Prime Minister should be the chairperson and the co-chairperson should be the Minister of Education and Health, and the responsibility of the chairperson should be given to the executive vice-chairperson.
Instead of fulfilling these demands, if the government works in the interest of the limited educational and medical mafia instead of the common citizens and students, we will be ready to bring programs of any movement including satyagraha.
