Kathmandu, November 8
In an act that directly amounts to conflict of interest, Women, Children and Senior Citizens Minister Uma Regmi has appointed her own daughter-in-law Monika Bhattarai Adhikari as the vice-chairperson of the Social Welfare Council, the regulator of all NGOs and INGOs working in the country.
Minister Regmi herself is the chairperson of the council by the virtue of her ministerial position, and the vice-chairperson leads day-to-day decision making in the council.
Monika Bhattarai Adhikari is the wife of Minister Regmi’s son Bijaya Adhikari.
Moreover, sources inform Minister Uma Regmi is currently searching for a good government position for her son also. For that, she is preparing to amend a regulation related to the National Child Rights Council so that Adhikari can be appointed either as the vice-chairperson or the executive director.
The current regulation does not have a position of a vice-chairperson whereas the incumbent executive director has more than two and a half years to complete his term. Hence, Regmi wants to either insert the vice-chairperson’s position or to sack the current executive director.
Meanwhile, Uma Regmi claims her daughter-in-law got the position because she is qualified and her son, who is an “intellectual”, does not need any favour.
“If the state is confident that my daughter-in-law is qualified enough [for the position], can’t she work there?” she questions, “The son also has his own business. He has his own expertise. Can’t he assist me in my work?”
