CC recommends Karki as CIAA chief
KATHMANDU, May 6:
Despite strong objections from various quarters, the Constitutional Council (CC) on Sunday recommended the president to appoint former chief secretary Lokman Singh Karki as the chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
A meeting of CC held at Singha Durbar on Sunday afternoon decided to recommend President Ram Baran Yadav to appoint Karki as the CIAA chief, Kayo Devi Yami as the chairperson of Public Service Commission (PSC) and Bhanu Prasad Acharya as the auditor general in line with the recommendation made by the High Level Political Committee (HLPC). Yami has already served as a member of PSC while Acharya is a former finance secretary.
“The CC meeting took a decision to recommend the president to make appointments at CIAA, PSC and the Office of Auditor General that have remained without heads for the last six years,” said Bimal Gautam, press advisor to Chairman of the Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi.
Asked about the rationale behind selecting a controversial person as the chief of CIAA, Gautam added, “One should not be judged on the basis of his/her personal history but on the basis of work performance.”
Responding to a query over reports about differences among CC members regarding the issue, he said the CC took the decision unanimously. According to him, the CC has already forwarded the recommendation to the president.
Gautam talked to media persons at Singha Durbar after the CC members refused to comment on the decision.
Emerging from the meeting, Officiating Chief Justice Damodar Prasad Sharma, who is also a member of the CC said, “The meeting has concluded as everything has been finalized.”
Information and Communications Minister Madhav Poudel, who is also a CC member, declined to talk to media persons saying he is the government´s spokesperson and not that of CC.
Likewise, Home Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Madhav Ghimire avoided the media persons saying Chief Secretary Leela Mani Poudyal, who is the member secretary of CC, would brief about the decision. However, Leela Mani Poudyal had already left when media persons reached his office in Singha Durbar.
The first meeting of HLPC about a month ago had decided to recommend the Interim Election Council to appoint Karki as the chief of CIAA.
Though the move was challenged at the Supreme Court, a division bench of Justices Girish Chandra Lal and Tarka Raj Bhatta on April 29 had scrapped an earlier interim order issued by Justice Sushila Karki. Justice Karki had stated that the Interim Election Council, which is formed only to hold fresh polls, cannot take a decision that has long-term impact.
Justice Lal and Bhatta, in their order, had said that it was not necessary to continue the interim order, stating it was premature to take a view on the competence or incompetence of a particular person and to interfere with the constitutionally allocated duty and responsibility of CC.
Chairman of the Interim Election Council Regmi is the head of the CC while Officiating Chief Justice Sharma, Home Minister Madhav Ghimire, Information and Communication Minister Poudel and Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Riddhi Baba Pradhan are the members of the CC.
Source: Republica
