Civil society leaders protest against appointment of businessman as State Minister for Health (Photo feature)

NL Today

  • Read Time 2 min.

Kathmandu: Civil society leaders have protested against the appointment of Umesh Shrestha as the State Minister for Health. They staged a protest at Maitighar Mandala in Kathmandu on Monday saying a businessman of education and health sectors has been assigned to look after the Health Ministry.

They demonstrated with placards with messages: “Pandemic to the people, businessman to look after Health Ministry and “Has politics become a business” among others.

They also protested against the appointment of a businessman as a minister in Gandaki Province. Protesters demanded to keep academies including BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences and universities out of politics.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday had appointed Shrestha as the State Minister for Health. Shrestha is a Nepali Congress lawmaker under the proportional representation (PR) category. He is also a promoter of Little Angel’s School, and the Chairperson of the Private and Boarding School Organization Nepal (PABSON).