The meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed due to a dispute over the manipulation of the provision related to the cooling-off period in the Civil Service Bill passed by the House of Representatives.
The meeting, initially called for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, was postponed until noon. The committee's agenda for the day included discussions with lawmakers who had filed amendments to the Police Bill. Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak had arrived for the meeting.
Before the meeting, Committee Chairman Ramhari Khatiwada and other committee members met with Speaker Devraj Ghimire.
The lawmakers drew the speaker's attention to how a report different from the one passed by the committee was prepared and subsequently approved by the House.
Lawmakers on the committee had reached an agreement that civil servants should not be appointed to constitutional or other positions for two years after retirement.
However, lawmakers have objected, alleging that the word "except" was inserted into the bill to allow the chief secretary, secretaries, and joint secretaries to be appointed to constitutional and other positions.
Lawmakers are outraged after discovering that the provision related to the cooling-off period was altered by going beyond what the committee had agreed upon. They have demanded an investigation into the matter.
CPN (Unified Socialist) lawmaker Rajendra Pandey said that such manipulations tarnish the reputation of lawmakers. "When one thing is decided and a different thing is passed, it damages the reputation of lawmakers. This also creates distrust within the committee. No meeting will be held and no bill will be passed until an investigation is conducted," he said.
Madhav Sapkota, a lawmaker from the CPN (Maoist Center), also emphasized the need for an investigation and action against those who manipulated the bill's provisions beyond the agreed terms. He demanded an investigation into Committee Chairman Ramhari Khatiwada and Secretary Suraj Kumar Dura.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Hridayaram Thani also said that an investigation must be conducted on the matter.
Meanwhile, Committee Chairman Khatiwada has called for an investigation on him as well. He said that he also stands for an investigation into the issue.
