Khatiwada elected Parliamentary Hearing Committee chair

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Ram Hari Khatiwada has been elected unopposed as Chairperson of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee.

A meeting of the joint House committee, chaired by its senior-most member, Pashupati Shumsher Rana, made the announcement on Friday.

Khatiwada was the sole candidate for the position, which became vacant following the resignation of Ishwari Devi Neupane, also from the NC.

NC Chief Whip Shyam Kumar Ghimire proposed Khatiwada’s name for the position. CPN-UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartuala seconded the proposal.

Khatiwada previously served as Chairperson of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee. He stepped down from the post last month after a probe panel held him morally and politically responsible for irregularities in the “cooling-off period” provision in the Federal Civil Service Bill.

Neupane, who resigned as Chairperson of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee, has since been elected as the new Chairperson of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives.