Maneuvering in lawmaking process must be investigated: Khatiwada

KATHMANDU: Chairperson of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives, Ram Hari Khatiwada,  has called for an investigation into alleged maneuvering regarding the provision for ‘cooling off period’ for civil servants in the Federal Service Bill, which was passed by parliament on Sunday.

Speaking to journalists at Singha Durbar on Tuesday, Khatiwada said he had formally requested Speaker Devraj Ghimire to initiate a probe into the matter. “A clause was added to the provision in the Bill after the committee finalized it,” Khatiwada said. “This is a serious breach of parliamentary procedure.”

Khatiwada explained that the Bill finalized by the committee had a provision that barred any individual, who resigns or retires from service must wait two years from the date of resignation or retirement, before being eligible for any constitutional or government appointment. “However, an exception clause was inserted before it was tabled in the House, he said. “This is a serious attack on Parliament. There is no place for such manipulations in the lawmaking process.”

The Bill passed by the lower house includes a clause which states “appointments except for constitutional, diplomatic or other government appointments will be barred”.