Lawmakers of three parties, including NC, seek PAC chair’s resignation

KATHMANDU: Lawmakers from the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre) and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) have demanded the resignation of Rishikesh Pokharel, Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives.

They demanded that Pokharel, who is a ruling party lawmaker, step down, arguing that the PAC Chairperson should be from the opposition party.

Maoist Center lawmaker Janardan Sharma accused the government of attempting to control the PAC which is supposed to scrutinize government irregularities. “It is inappropriate for the ruling party lawmaker to head the PAC as it undermines the committee’s independence,” Sharma said. “International practices also show the PAC Chair should be from the opposition parties.”

He added that the PAC loses its purpose if it is led by a ruling party lawmaker.

Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Arjun Narasingh KC urged Pokhrel to step down. Highlighting the global practice of opposition lawmakers chairing such committees, he criticized the repeated violations of this tradition. “The previous coalition of NC and Maoist Center also broke this term. But we need to adhere to the tradition and move forward,” he added.

Similarly, RSP lawmaker Hari Dhakal demanded Pokhrel’s resignation and cautioned against using past examples of ruling party members leading the PAC as justification. He reiterated that the PAC chairperson must be from the opposition parties to maintain its accountability and credibility.