The main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) has called the manner of passing of the the Medical Education Bill by the House of Representatives (HoR) autocratic.
"The bill was passed in an autocratic manner even as the opposition picketed the well of the House," NC President and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba commented after the bill was passed on Friday. "I feel sad that Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara failed to maintain the dignity of the position."
The HoR earlier passed the bill despite protest by NC lawmakers.
Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel presented the bill from the rostrum despite the NC lawmakers chanting slogans in the well of the House. Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara declared passing of the bill through voice vote even as no lawmakers registered their name for discussion on the bill.
NC lawmaker Gagan Thapa accused the government of not showing interest to discuss the issue with the opposition. "They have showed they do not recognize those who do not agree. This is start of the politics of prohibition," Thapa stated.
He also accused Speaker Mahara of treachery. "He sent a message to us saying he will find a resolution and prevent confrontation, and then got the bill passed. He acted like a follower of government's instructions. He worked more than the government to get the bill passed," he accused.
He claimed that discussions on bills cannot be held on Friday and Speaker Mahara could have pointed to the rule 11 of the HoR regulations that says non-governmental issues get priority on Friday and said the bill cannot be presented to the House today.
Lawmaker of ruling CPN Yogesh Bhattarai, on the other hand, opined that the days of doing politics over Dr Govinda KC have ended after passing of the bill. "Passing of the bill that has been under discussion for over half a decade is a revolutionary leap in the sector of medical education," Bhattarai claimed.
"It is a 100 percent victory for Dr KC and he should not stage another hunger strike in his life," he stated. "The days for doing politics on Dr KC have also ended after this."
The ruling CPN had tried to pass the bill on Tuesday itself but the House was adjourned due to obstruction by NC lawmakers.
The government seemed determined to pass the much-disputed bill from the House before Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli returns from Davos at any cost. A CPN leader had confided with Setopati that Oli had summoned the party's lawmakers before leaving for Davos and instructed them to get it passed before he returns home.
"Call it autocracy or arrogance of two-third majority, the bill will be passed. It is the government's strategy," Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Baskota said addressing the weekly press conference at the Singh Durbar on Thursday.
The House was adjourned until Friday after lawmakers of the main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) stopped Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel Minister Pokharel from going to the rostrum to present the bill on Tuesday accusing the government of trying to dissolve hospitals opened in the name of former prime ministers (PM) Girija Prasad Koirala and Sushil Koirala.
Dr Govinda KC is into the 17th day of his 16th fast-unto death demanding that the agreement the government signed with him before ending his 15th on July 26, 2018 be implemented to the letter.
The Medical Education Bill, passed by the Education and Health Committee of the House of Representatives (HoR) on the basis of majority despite opposition of four NC lawmakers, mainly violated three agreements signed with Dr KC.
The provision prohibiting a university from giving affiliation to more than five medical colleges has been weakened in the bill adding that those outside the Kathmandu Valley that have acquired letter of intent (LOI) can be given affiliation by the Tribhuvan University and the Kathmandu University.
B&C Hospital in Birtamode, Jhapa has acquired LOI from the Kathmandu University, that has already provided affiliation to at least five medical colleges, to operate a medical college.
The bill endorsed on Wednesday will pave the way for immediate affiliation to B&C. The agreement mentioned medical colleges to be opened outside Kathmandu Valley will have to comply with the policies to be formulated by the Medical Education Commission meaning B&C would have to wait for formation of the commission, and formulation of policies by the commission to get affiliation.
The second is formation of the all-powerful commission for regulation of medical education and to formulate policies about the sector. Dr KC suspects that the bill passed on Wednesday mentioned Medical Education University to undermine the commission.
The third is the issue of Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) that the government had agreed to phase out within five years as the Health Ministry has already announced it will not recruit human resources with qualification of just certificate level. But the bill passed Wednesday states that the CTEVT will continue until the government so wishes.
