CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli has said the decision to grant or not to grant affiliation to medical colleges should not be taken under pressure. He said the decision of Tribhuvan University (TU) to put on hold the affiliation granted to Kathmandu National Medical College (KNMC) was a deliberate move of the government.

He remarked that the decision to grant affiliation was not implemented because of pressure from Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as UML had given ticket to the medical college’s operator Basuriddhin Ansari to run for the mayoral post in Birjung Metropolis. PM Deuba is the president of Nepali Congress.

Speaking during a press conference in Bharatpur on Sunday, Oli, who is also a former prime minister, remarked that there is a growing tendency of misusing power in the country.

Oli accused the prime minister of abusing authority in his capacity as the TU chancellor and taking the decision in an arbitrary manner and under pressure after learning that Ansari was fielded by the UML.

Following a widespread condemnation against the move to grant affiliation to the controversial medical college, the TU on Saturday evening said the decision to grant affiliation to Kathmandu National Medical College “will not be implemented for now”.

An investigation team formed by Health Ministry had submitted a report which stated that the KNMC had been running illegally. It is learnt the KNMC is running without permission from the Health Ministry. It also fails to meet the basic infrastructure and human resource criteria to offer the MBBS course.

Oli claimed that the CPN-UML has not been running any medical colleges and questioned the government why Manmohan Medical College was not allowed to operate even though it meets the required infrastructure criteria.