Kathmandu, August 15
Negotiators affiliated with major ruling parties have launched another bid to convince Dr Govinda KC to break his fast-unto-death on Tuesday.
CPN-Maoist Centre leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Nepali Congress leader and former Health Minister Gagan Thapa have put forward three new options to convince the senior orthopaedic surgeon who has been fasting for last 23 days at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.
According to the leaders, they have proposed as the first option that Dr KC will end his strike after the government agrees that no new medical college is established in Kathmandu Valley for next 10 years. But, the proposed Manmohan Institute of Health Sciences can be an obstruction to implement this point as its operators have refused to sale the property to the government.
Therefore, it requires more time to agree on this option, and Dr KC’s health should be good enough to wait till then.
As the second option, the negotiators have proposed that Dr KC will end the strike as the government will implement a deal made among the stakeholders last week with the initiatives of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Dr KC’s representatives had also agreed to endorse the Medical Education Bill with the provisions that Dr KC has been demanding, but the issue of establishing new medical college will be handed over to a to-be-formed Medical Education Commission. According to that agreement, the colleges which have already received the letter of interest from the government can begin operation if they meet new criteria set by the Commission.
Dr KC, however, had refused to budge claiming there were loopholes for mafias to play.
The third option is that Dr KC will break his fast considering the adverse situation in the country after recent floods and landslides whereas the government will meet his demands except the one related to establishment of new colleges. The government will form a new committee to deal with the issue.
It has been learned that the negotiators have found the third option most favourable and efforts are underway to convince Dr KC on it.
