KATHMANDU: Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire has instructed that the report of the parliamentary special committee formed to investigate the tampering of the cooling-off period provision in the Federal Civil Service Bill, 2023, be implemented.
Acting on the recommendations of chief whips from major political parties, Ghimire issued the directive on Friday.
According to his press adviser, Shekhar Adhikari, the Speaker has asked the House of Representatives secretary to forward the report to the parliamentary offices of all parties, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, and the Federal Parliament Secretariat for necessary action.
Earlier this week, the Speaker had held separate discussions at Singha Durbar with ruling coalition partners, the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, on implementing the report.
He met UML chief whip Mahesh Kumar Bartaula and Congress chief whip Shyam Kumar Ghimire to seek their views.
The Speaker also consulted with Federal Parliament Secretary General Padma Prasad Pandey. Pandey and Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal had reportedly lobbied influential power centers to remove the cooling period provision.
During the discussions, Ghimire stressed the need to implement the report and accelerate the work of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee. Acting on this, he issued Friday’s directive.
The controversy over tampering with the cooling period provision has already led to political fallout. State Affairs and Good Governance Committee chairperson Ramhari Khatiwada resigned on Wednesday after the parliamentary probe held him responsible. Committee secretary Suraj Kumar Dura has also been implicated. The Speaker has since assigned Under-Secretary Kancha Dulal as the committee’s new secretary.
Bartaula and Shyam Kumar Ghimire had earlier advised the Speaker to decide on the matter based on input from major parties. Last Friday, the Speaker also consulted with Law Under-Secretary Laxmi Prasad Gautam and Parliamentary Business Division chief Under-Secretary Ekram Giri regarding the report’s implementation.
Following multiple rounds of consultations, the Speaker concluded that the report should be put into action without further delay.
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