DHARAN, Jan 20 : Accusing the vice chancellor of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) of disobedience, Health Minister Deepak Bohara is trying to remove him from the post.
According to sources at the Ministry of Health, the minister is trying to remove BPKIHS Vice-chancellor Dr Raj Kumar Rauniyar for defying his instruction given in the 40th session of the institute's senate meeting on November 16.
Minister Bohara had instructed Rauniyar to give continuity to the senate meeting, which the minister says was not followed. He then sought clarification from the vice-chancellor a week earlier.
However, Bohara terms the clarification submitted by Rauniyar as unsatisfactory and requested BPKIHS Chancellor and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to take further action against the BPKIHS vice-chancellor, according to reliable sources. The sources said that Minister Bohara, who is also the pro-chancellor of BPKIHS, had asked PM Deuba to sack the vice-chancellor.
Health Minister Bohara accused of commission game at BPKIHS
In the last senate meeting, a decision was made to form a three-member investigation committee under the leadership of Secretary Kiran Regmi to investigate the ongoing construction of mother-children care center building and to be constructed building for heart disease, for which the ministry and senate had not given permission.
However, Regmi retired before the committee could start its work. Minister Bohara then pressurized the vice-chancellor to hold senate meeting on December 15 and 27 to discuss the reports of the investigation committee.
But BPKIHS Vice-chancellor Rauniyar did not heed the minister's instruction, angering him.
Sources at BPKIHS said those employees against Vice-chancellor Rauniyar are happy with the minister's move. It is said that former vice-chancellor of the institute Dr BP Das is also actively involved in the scheme.
Senator Anjani Kumar Jha of the BPKIHS acknowledged the conflict between Pro-chancellor Bohora and Vice-chancellor Rauniyar. However, he said there is no legal guidance as to what steps to take when there is conflict between the pro-chancellor and the vice-chancellor.
“The vice-chancellor did not call senate meeting, defying the minister's instruction.
We don't know what to do in the event when the vice-chancellor defies an instruction from the pro-chancellor. There is no legal guidance to follow,” he said.
According to a senate member, it is possible to remove the vice-chancellor if one-fourth of senate members write application to the Chancellor and if the latter approves the demand. The institute has a total of 22 senators, meaning that at least six senators need to write application to the prime minster requesting him to take action against the vice-chancellor.
“The minister alone cannot do anything. There must be agreement between senators, minister and prime minister,” said the senate member.
