26 Chait, Kathmandu. Prime Minister Balen Shah dismissed Labor, Employment and Social Security Minister Deepak Kumar Shah on Thursday. Prime Minister Shah has decided to remove Shah from the ministerial post on Thursday as per the recommendation of RSVP.

Ravi Lamichhane, Chairman of RSVP, had recommended to the Prime Minister on Thursday that Labor Minister Sah had misused the dignity of his office while he was in the ministerial position.

The RSVP took action after news broke that Shah’s wife Junu Shrestha was involved in regular activities under the guise of power and access as a member of the Health Insurance Board, which has been inactive for a long time.

Sah’s wife Junu Shrestha is an optometrist. Shrestha was appointed as a member of the board by the then health minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet in November 2080. After that, she attended regular meetings for some time.

But Shrestha did not participate in the board meeting since January 1, 2081. He did not formally inform the insurance board. According to the former official of the insurance board, he was requested to participate in the board meetings time and again. In August 2081, she went to the UK with her husband to study.

In the meantime, Board Chairman Chandra Bahadur Thapa Chhetri objected to the meeting saying that there is a provision in the Insurance Act that if he is absent from the meeting three times, he will be automatically suspended. After that, after he did not participate in the board meeting for 11 times, the board sent a letter to the ministry to take action.

According to high sources in the Ministry of Health, Shrestha was appointed by Health Minister Mehta. After the controversy about the misuse of wide power and access on social media, the officials of the Ministry of Health and the Board remained silent.

Sub-section 1 of Section 25 of the Health Insurance Act 2074 has provided for automatic suspension if absent from the meeting three times in a row.

It is stated in the act, ‘If absent from the board meeting three times in a row without informing the board, the position of chairman, member and executive director will be considered vacant.’

On 4 Baisakh 2082, the then Executive Director of Insurance Board Dr. Raghuraj Kafle wrote a letter to the Ministry of Health for necessary implementation.

It is said in the said letter, ‘From the 1st of January 2081, from the fourth board meeting of the current year 2081 and 082 to the eleventh board meeting, it seems that he has been absent continuously. The meeting and decision-making process of this board has been affected by the absence of board members.

According to the board officials, Shrestha is the person in front. At that time, the board needed people to work.

‘Board officials also requested to return. Since that was not possible, the necessary letter was cut because he was appointed by the ministry,’ says a member of the board, ‘but even after adopting both procedures, he did not come.’

Junu was removed as a board member after he was not physically present. His name was also removed from the insurance board’s website.

Junu’s husband Shah got a ticket from RSVP for the 21 February House of Representatives elections. He won from Mahottari-2 with the highest number of votes. Only a few months before that, they had returned to Nepal.

After that, Junu tried again and again to return as a board member. However, the officials of the board directly refused. “She wanted to return to the board saying that her tenure was still left,” says a member of the board, “but the chairman and some members opposed it.” She did not come to the meeting.’

The re-appointment was made by the Minister of Health

On 13 March, Shah became the Labor Minister. Nisha Mehta became the Health Minister. Then, under the guise of access and power, the maneuver to return the wife to the board began. According to the high sources of the Ministry of Health, under pressure, Minister Sah proceeded with the process of appointing his wife as a board member. In which Health Minister Mehta supported and handed over the appointment letter.

Then Shrestha was called as a member in the board meeting on 23 Chait. Shrestha, who was fired, suddenly went to the board meeting. The board members looked at each other. They could not raise any questions. The meeting started at 5 pm and lasted until 8 pm. According to one of the members who attended the board meeting, Shrestha also appeared as a member.

‘He had appeared as a board member,’ says a member present, ‘We didn’t even ask. There was a discussion for about three hours.’

After Junu participated in the published meeting, the news was published in the media. After that, when the subject of the appointment was discussed on social media, Junu denied it.

She explained that she was not appointed and did not even receive the letter. “I have nothing to do with the news about the health insurance board member and I have not understood any nomination letter,” Shrestha wrote on social media.

Health Minister Nisha Mehta was absent due to her busy schedule in the program attended by the employees of the Ministry of Health and the Insurance Board.

Junu posted her previous appointment letter on social media and wrote, ‘My appointment as a member of the Health Insurance Board took place in 2080. This appointment in the year 2080 is for four years ie till the year 2084. The current re-appointment issue is beyond my knowledge. Also, I have not received any official information about this. Therefore, the news about the current appointment is misleading and I regret it.

She has made it clear through social media that she has studied about health insurance and has requested the ministry to keep her as a member because she is also qualified. She said, ‘It’s been 100 days since I returned from London. After coming to Nepal, I informed the Ministry of Health that I wanted to continue on the board.

However, according to high sources in the Ministry of Health, Shrestha was appointed by Health Minister Mehta. After the controversy about the misuse of wide power and access on social media, the officials of the Ministry of Health and the Board remained silent.

Rushing to fix the minute to save the ministerial position

When the ministerial position was in danger, Shah tried another trick. In the meeting of the board, he confirmed that he would remove the minutes that he had signed as a member. For that, Minister Sah even went to board members.

According to high sources, he reached Veer Hospital at 9 am on Tuesday. “Shreshtha (Mrs.) was brought as an invited expert and was made to sign another memorandum,” said a high source, “some did, some refused to sign.”

On Wednesday, with the 10th anniversary of the start of the health insurance program, the Insurance Board had a program to publicize an important achievement. In which Shah was invited as the chief guest.

Health Minister Nisha Mehta was absent due to her busy schedule in the program attended by the employees of the Ministry of Health and the Insurance Board.

Sah, who spoke for about 15 minutes, objected to the working style of the Ministry of Health and its employees. While speaking, he blamed the Ministry of Health, the Health Insurance Board, the hospital and the health workers, and expressed his anger at the employees of the Ministry of Health and the Insurance Board for failing to provide insurance.

He commented that the Health Insurance Board and the Ministry of Health should be self-critical.

Saying that the Ministry of Health was responsible for the collapse of the health insurance program, he told the Ministry of Labor that he was subordinate to if he could not run the insurance.

He also asked for a blueprint from the Ministry of Health for restructuring. After his wife’s dispute broke out, Sah attacked the Board and the Ministry of Health.

On Thursday, Labor Minister Sah has complained that he was not able to give an explanation in a conversation with Online Khabar along with the decision to remove him after abusing the dignity of office while he was still in office.

‘No one asked me anything. I only got to know the decision before the news came,’ Sah said, ‘What mistake did I make? Budhi’s appointment ministry is also different, what did I do? That’s it. It’s a little bit sad.’