KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) leader Gagan Thapa has said that not a single rupee could be withdrawn from the state coffers for anyone seeking treatment abroad. Thapa, who is also a former health minister, accused the government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli of violating the law in this regard.
Taking to Facebook Saturday, he questioned on what basis the PM had appropriated medical expense from government treasury to UML senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal.
UML leader and former prime minister Khanal’s treatment at the Apollo Hospital in India was initially decided to be borne by the UML. Later, media reports said the government had decided to bear Khanal’s treatment expenses.
“There was the practice where the Ministry of Health recommended to pay abroad treatment expenses of high-ranking officials and the Council of Ministers approved the recommendation. We tried to stop this practice. However, the PM’s direct proposal did not stop the payment of medical expenses from the state treasury,” he wrote in Facebook post.
He added, “Assuming such practice would not stop until the law is enacted, I proposed an amendment to the Public Health Bill brought by the Oli government four years ago, which was endorsed by the parliament a year later. The law came into force on September 12, 2018.”
As per the NC leader, he introduced the phrase that regardless of the prevailing law, the government would not bear medical expenses of any person abroad. Nevertheless, PM Oli authorized Khanal’s abroad treatment from government coffers. He inquired on what basis PM Oli made such a decision.
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