Chief Secretary admits lobbying against cooling-off period in Civil Service Bill

KATHMANDU: Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal has admitted that he actively lobbied against the inclusion of a “cooling-off period” in the Federal Civil Service Bill, 2023, and has continued to oppose it until the bill is formally enacted into law.

During a statement given to the parliamentary special investigation committee formed to look into the controversy surrounding the bill, Aryal said he has consistently advocated against the provision, viewing it as contrary to the rights of government employees.

“We have always opposed the cooling-off period as part of our legitimate rights,” Aryal told the committee led by lawmaker Jeevan Pariyar. “And we still maintain that it should not be included until the bill becomes law.”

Aryal also acknowledged that he personally requested top political leaders, including then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, to remove the clause from the bill.

“I did raise the demand before the Prime Minister, the NC President, and Prachanda, insisting the cooling-off period should not be included,” Aryal said. He further revealed that even after the bill was passed by the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, he went to Speaker Devraj Ghimire to ask that the provision be removed.

Clarifying his actions, Aryal said he did not raise the issue informally, but rather in his official capacity as Chief Secretary.

“I acted in my formal role. The provision needs to be corrected. The distrust of civil servants has created this problem,” he said

Aryal attributed the controversial exclusion of sub-clauses (4) and (5) regarding the cooling-off period to a “human error rather than deliberate intent,” stating that confusion and mistrust had led to the oversight.

In his July 19 statement before the committee, Aryal also mentioned that while he had participated in certain discussions on the bill, he only learned about the specific errors after the bill had been passed by the House of Representatives and reported on by the media.