Govinda KC, who has been leading a campaign to reform Nepal’s medical sector, has demanded impeachment of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Chief Lokman Singh Karki.

Accusing Karki of protecting the corrupt, forcing responsible authorities to resign and overstepping his jurisdiction by interfering in the entrance exams of the Kathmandu University, KC has demanded that Parliament begin a process to impeach him right away.

At a press conference in Kathmandu on Sunday, KC threatened to embark on a fresh hunger strike from 10 July if his demands were not met. He has also pushed for other demands, most importantly endorsement of the Medical Education Act after some of its key provisions are amended.

In response to KC’s statement, the CIAA said he is ‘suffering from a mental disorder’ and asked the government to ‘provide medical treatment for him’.

KC, an orthopedic surgeon and professor at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), has been campaigning against irregularities in the medical sector for over five years. He has undertaken a fast-unto-death as many as seven times – often for more than one week.

KC had compelled the government to form a committee to formulate a medical sector education policy. The committee, headed by eminent education expert Kedar Bhakta Mathema, has already submitted its report, but the Act based on this report has not yet been passed by Parliament.

In an article published in Kantipur last month, KC criticised Karki for abusing his power in order to subvert the achievements of the campaign against corruption in the medical sector. He wrote: ‘A constitutional body responsible for promoting transparency and accountability is itself opaque and abets impunity.’

KC, admired by many for his honesty and integrity, is a relentless crusader and has never ended a hunger strike without an agreement with the government. But this time, his demand will not prove easy for the government to fulfill.

To sack Karki by impeaching him requires the support of three-fourths of the Members of Parliament (MPs), hence all the major parties need to reach a consensus.