The Bibeksheel Sajha Party (BSP) on Sunday demanded the resignation of Minister for Education Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokhrel for his dubious role in delaying endorsement of the Medical Education Bill, which could lead anti-corruption crusader Dr Govinda KC to stage another hunger strike anytime soon.

Minister Pokhrel has been accused of amending the bill for the benefit of medical mafias and delaying the endorsement.

BSP Spokesperson Ramesh Paudyal told the Post, “Minister Pokhrel’s role has been very dubious over the time-frame of the Medical Education Bill. The government needs to investigate into the delay over the bill which could trigger Dr KC to start his 16th hunger strike.”

The party has demanded Pokhrel to resign from his post so that a transparent investigation can be conducted.

“If Pokhrel refuses to resign, Prime Minister KP Oli should dismiss him. If Pokhrel remains as minister, the investigation cannot be transparent and credible,” said Paudyal.

After the bill failed to go through the summer session of Parliament, Dr KC has demanded Pokhrel’s resignation by mentioning him as the major obstacle.

During a press meet on September 28, Dr KC had revealed that Minister Pokharel tried to bargain with him to compromise some of his demands in return for the bill’s endorsement. Dr KC had accused that an aide to Pokhrel asked him to compromise on the provision of the affiliation to technical schools.

The agreement between Dr KC and the government has a provision that allows Medical Education Commission,

the authority to grant affiliations to nursing colleges, instead of executive panel of the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) led by the education minister.

Pokhrel denies the accusations. He says the bill should be passed by Parliament during its winter session.

The BSP has warned the government to create a proper environment for Dr KC so that he should not stage his 16th hunger strike for the same demands he has protested in his past 15 hunger strikes.

“It is a shame for the government to cheat on a person multiple times by assuring just in words. Dr KC ended his 15th hunger strike after Prime Minister Oli assured

of endorsing the bill,  he has still not done it. If the government cannot endorse the bill, the prime minister should inform the public,” said Paudyal.

On July 26, the government had signed an agreement with Dr KC, assuring to endorse the bill as per the recommendations of the taskforce led by Kedar Bhakta Mathema, former vice-chancellor of the Tribhuvan University. After the deal, the senior orthopaedic surgeon ended his 15th hunger strike.

Dr KC, on September 26, had given a deadline to the government, which ends on Monday, for implementing his demands including endorsement of the Medical Education Bill along with justice to the 13-year-old Nirmala Pant who was raped and murdered in Kanchanpur on July 26.

“I have not received any assurances for any of the demands. As the deadline closes tomorrow [on Monday] I will reveal further steps tomorrow,” Dr KC told the Post. “The government has been infected by some corrupted officials.”

If his demands are not addressed, Dr KC has warned of staging his 16th hunger strike.