KATHMANDU, April 23: Responding to the Supreme Court (SC) order to furnish clarification in writing over the proposal on appointing former chief secretary Lokman Singh Karki as the chief commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Chairman of UCPN (Maoist), Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has defended the recommendation made by the High Level Political Committee (HLPC) regarding the appointment.
In his written clarification sent to the apex court on Monday, Dahal, who was leading the HLPC when the proposal on appointing Karki was made, has claimed that they are not aware about any decision taken against the latter. [break]
"It is nothing new for a new political party not to be in the know about everything as political parties that were in the previous governments have been providing him all the facilities from state coffers out of due regard and have not taken any action against him and moreover the report of the Rayamajhi Commission has not been made public so far," maintained Dahal in his two-page written clarification.
Indicating that it is not surprising to propose for appointment of Karki as the CIAA head, the UCPN (Maoist) chairman has maintained that they have been working together even with those political parties that had put bounty on the heads of Maoist leaders during the insurgency.
"It is no longer hidden that we are now working with the same people who had during the insurgency placed a bounty on our heads and issued notice asking the public to come with our heads in bags and return with the same bag filled with moneh," further reads the written reply furnished by Dahal.
Stating that the HLPC is purely a political mechanism, Dahal has argued that anything related to the HLPC does not fall under the jurisdiction of the court. "The writ petition deserves to be scrapped as it has been filed immaturely," he has argued.
Also, Dahal has maintained that the writ petition should be annulled as even appointments made by the Constitutional Council can be scrapped if an appointee is found guilty as per the existing laws. "Whether a person is competent or not is determined by facts, evidences, laws and judicial decisions but not through news reports, allegations and counter allegations," said Dahal in his clarification.
The president´s office, Chairman of Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi and his office and the CIAA have already furnished their clarifications over the issue. The apex court is scheduled to conduct next hearing on the issue on Tuesday.
A single bench of justice Sushila Karki on March 22 had ordered the government to halt the appointment process until April 7 stating that the Interim Election Council, which has been formed to hold fresh election, cannot take decision on issues that may have long-term effects.
Advocate Om Prakash Aryal on March 20 had moved the apex court challenging the government´s preparations to appoint Karki as the chief of the anti-corruption body.
In the petition, Aryal has stated that the recommendation of the HLPC to appoint Karki as the head of the CIAA is against constitutional provisions and the spirit of the people´s movement, rule of law, good governance, transparency, accountability and the principle of constitutional checks and balances.
The writ petitioner has claimed that Karki is not eligible for the post as he was involved in suppression of the April 2006 democratic movement.
The Office of the President, Chairman of Interim Election Council Regmi and his office, Constitutional Council, the CIAA, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Dahal and Karki are named as defendants in the writ petition.
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