Bureaucrats demand ouster of Chief Secy Karki

Kathmandu, Apr 29 (UNI) Nepal's Chief Secretary Lok Man Singh Karki could not enter his office at Singh Durbar Complex, housing the government's central secretariat yesterday, after some bureuacrats pasted notices prohibiting his entry in the building.

Even Mr Karki's nameplate outside his office was pasted over with a notice -- ''Prohibited Zone for Karki''.

There were two notices with similar content on both sides of the main entrance to the Prime Minister's Office, two at the reception desk, two on the stairs and two on the wall outside his room.

Sources said some bureaucrats had pasted the notices, saying they opposed the ''anti-democratic stance'' Mr Karki demonstrated after his appointment as well as his acts in politicising the bureaucracy.

Senior bureuacrats have repeatedly been criticising Mr Karki for grossly violating the norms of a stable government, playing a crucial role in promulgating draconian laws against civil servants, depriving civil servants of their union rights and forcing them to support the Royal takeover.

They said Mr Karki, after learning of the officials' preparation to bar him from entering the office, cancelled a formal meeting of government secretaries called for 1030 hrs yesterday and did not attend the office.

The bureaucrats want Mr Karki's resignation from his post well before a new government takes over, sources said adding that the agitating officials also alleged that some Secretaries -- Janak Raj Joshi of Physical Planning and Works, Yuba Raj Bhushal of Land Reforms and Management and Hira Bahadur Thapa of Foreign Affairs were misusing authority to suppress the recent people's movement and threatening employees who supported the movement.

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