Kathmandu, July 14
Nepali Congress-aligned lawyers are pressing Prime Minister and party chief Sher Bahadur Deuba to relieve Attorney General Raman Kumar Shrestha from his post, sources say.
Members of the NC-aligned Democratic Lawyers’ Association have drawn the attention of the Prime Minister’s secretariat on the issue. DLA sources say they will soon meet the Prime Minister to formally demand that Shrestha resign from his job.
DLA’s former President Yadunath Khanal said it was a tradition that when the Prime Minister resigns, the AG, who is the government’s main legal advisor, should also tender his resignation. “We have heard that Shrestha hasn’t resigned because the Prime Minister has not asked him to do so. It is ethically wrong for him to cling on to the post as he was Prime Minister Prachanda’s legal advisor,” he added.
Shrestha, however, says that Prime Minister Deuba has confidence in him and wants him to continue. He maintains that the CJ impeachment case was a testament to Deuba’s confidence in him.
Congress-aligned lawyers say Shrestha should resign even if Deuba wants him to continue with his job. Khanal said it was Shrestha’s duty to resign, and he could again take charge if he is re-appointed to the post.
According to sources Congress-aligned lawyers Mahadev Yadav, and former Bar Association General Secretary Madhav Baskota have been lobbying to land the job. Bar Association chief Sher Bahadur KC and General Secretary Khamba Khati are also believed to be in the fray for the top job.
