Publishing the vacancies in the state-owned Gorkhapatra on Monday, the NA said that the fresh recruitment would not cross its strength recorded at the time of the signing of the historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in November 2006. The strength of the national army was 95, 753 then. [break]
NA began the new recruitment drive despite a one-year old Supreme Court stay order still in force. In a recruitment controversy in March last year, the apex court had ordered the government and the army not to take in further recruits in the national army until it gives its final verdict.
The apex court had also ordered the government and the NA not to carry out any further recruitment in violation of the CPA and the Interim Constitution till the controversy is settled in the court. The court has yet to pass its final verdict in the recruitments of the last year.
But Defense Minister Bidya Bhandari told media persons on Monday that the new recruitment process was initiated "in accordance with the SC stay order".
"New recruitments to fill up the vacant posts under the government ceiling is our regular process, NA´s Spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri told myrepublica.com. "No any treaty, pact or law has forbidden us from recruiting the posts for the security cause of VVIP and VIP, peace mission, environment protection, development activities, control of natural calamities, vital government installations, cultural heritage and festivals."
He said that NA´s role in providing security for the said areas would be affected if the fresh recruitment process is not to go ahead.
When asked about the SC´s interim order not to carry out further recruitments, Chhetri said, "If we read between the lines of SC´s interim order, it does not restrict us to carry out recruiting process under the government ceiling."
The government had fixed ceiling of 95, 753 total posts within the Nepal Army at the time of the signing of the CPA.
The NA, however, said that the fresh recruitment process does not violate the CPA.
"This is a regular process to keep the institution alive and it does not violate any order or provisions, be that of the court or the CPA," Chhetri added.
In the meantime, UCPN-M, who fought against the NA during the conflict period, has taken strong exception to the NA´s move.
Maoist Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha, talking to journalists, objected to the NA´s recruitments.
"Our party strongly objects to NA´s fresh recruiting process. This is a blatant violation of the CPA," Shrestha said.
In the meantime, a group of five lawyers representing Inhured International, an NGO, has moved the Supreme Court against the recruitments on Monday. The same group of lawyers had also brought the case before the court last year and the court had stayed the recruitments.
One of the lawyers, Shree Krishna Subedi says that the NA´s fresh move violates the Interim Constitution and CPA.
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