POKHARA, Nov 13: The provincial government of Gandaki has given the green signal to introduce its own provincial-level Police Act. The permission was granted although a similar move by Province 2 in the past triggered a widespread controversy and created a conflict between the provincial and federal governments.
With this, Gandaki is set to become the second province to introduce its own Police Act. However, just like Province 2, Gandaki is set to confront the federal government if it introduces its own Police Act. The root of the conflict is that the federal government has not enacted the new Federal Police Act. They are unwilling to see provincial governments introduce their own police laws before the federal police law is implemented.
Gandaki's Law Minister Hari Bahadur Chuman said their move would further pressurize the federal government to enact the Federal Police Act. He said the provincial government is making the move because it is running out of patience.
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“Our hands are tied without the provincial Police Act. This is why we decided to speed up the process to introduce the Act as we are tired of waiting,” he said. Minister Chuman said Province 2 pressurized the federal government after they endorsed their Police Act. “In the same way, we are also preparing the law to exert further pressure on the federal government.”
Chuman said that a draft of the Act has already been prepared. According to him, they will hold a round of discussions with law experts and finalize the draft.
“We have demanded that the central government enact the federal Act. If they do, we'll revise our draft based on the federal police law. But if they don't, we'll submit our draft to the provincial assembly for endorsement,” said Minister Chuman. According to a reliable source, the draft has a provision which allows an Additional Inspector General (AIG) to lead the provincial police force. Chuman hinted at the same. Secretary Fanindra Mani Pokharel of Gandaki's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law said that a meeting of the provincial Council of Ministers has already paved the way for finalizing the draft. He also confirmed that the draft preparation is in the final phase.
