Speaker Devraj Ghimire has held discussions with the chief whips of major political parties regarding the formation of an investigation committee to probe the tampering of provisions related to the cooling-off period in the Federal Civil Service Bill.
On Thursday afternoon, Speaker Ghimire consulted with UML Chief Whip Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Shyam Kumar Ghimire, and CPN (Maoist Center) Chief Whip Hitraj Pandey at his office in the Singha Durbar. Deputy Speaker Indira Rana was also present during the discussion.
The Speaker proposed forming a committee under Rule 180 of the House of Representatives Regulations. He sought proposals from the parties regarding the committee’s tasks, its duration, and the names of its members.
The major parties suggested that forming a parliamentary investigation committee would be appropriate. They stated that since the issue of tampering with the bill’s provisions pertains to the legislature, there was no need to seek the government’s opinion. Leaders of the three major parties said that they would inform the speaker after discussing the matter within their respective parties.
An agreement was reached among the parties to finalize an understanding before the House of Representatives meeting scheduled for July 7 and propose the formation of such a committee in the House in consultation with the Business Advisory Committee.
The Federal Parliament Secretariat said that, although Ramhari Khatiwada, chairman of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, verbally informed it about the decisions of the committee’s meeting held on Wednesday, no formal information had been received.
