I will resign from parliamentary committee if my party instructs, says Khatiwada

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress Central Working Committee member Ram Hari Khatiwada has said that he is ready to resign as Chairperson of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives if the party instructs him to do so.

Khatiwada courted controversy after a provision related to the “cooling-off period” for civil servants in the Federal Civil Service Bill was by the House of Representatives with changes that differed from what had originally been approved by the committee.

“If the party feels I made mistakes in my role as the committee chair and instructs me to step down, I am ready to do so,” he said.

Khatiwada said he would respect and implement any decision made through proper parliamentary procedure. “But we should not undermine the parliamentary committee in a way that damages its credibility,” he added.

The House committee had passed the Bill with a provision that made government employees ineligible for any government appointments within two years of their retirement or resignation. However, the Bill passed by the House of Representatives included an additional sub-clause stating that government employees are ineligible for appointments other than constitutional, diplomatic and other appointments made by the government within two years of their retirement or resignation.