Hearing committee meeting postponed due to lack of quorum

KATHMANDU: The Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) failed to take a decision on the parliamentary hearing of Ram Krishna Bhattarai, who has been recommended for appointment as Nepal’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, due to a lack of quorum.

According to PHC member Shyam Kumar Ghimire, a two-thirds majority, or 10 members, is needed to approve or reject the proposed ambassador’s name. “Only eight members out of 15 were present in the meeting on Monday,” Ghiire said. “We needed at least 10 members to take a decision.”

The PHC meeting will now convene on Tuesday.

The previous meeting of the PHC endorsed 16 ambassador nominees out of 17 recommended by the government. A decision on his nomination was postponed due to a lack of documents.

Committee Chair Ishwari Neupane informed members at the start of the meeting that the foreign ministry hadn’t provided the necessary documents requested on September 19.

A member of the committee told Himal Press that the Bachelor’s certificate of Bhattarai is missing.

“If the committee gets all his documents by Tuesday morning, Bhattarai’s nomination would be approved. Otherwise, it won’t be possible to endorse his nomination,” Ghimire said.

Only individuals with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in any subject can be appointed as ambassadors, as per the Directives for Ambassadorial Appointment.