Ramhari Khatiwada, chairman of the House of Representatives' State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, has resigned from his position.
Khatiwada announced his resignation as committee chair during the House meeting on Tuesday. He maintained that he is an honest people’s representative.
"The day the error in the Civil Service Bill (cooling-off period) came to light, I had already returned facilities such as the vehicle," Khatiwada said. "From the beginning, I had taken a firm stand that a two-year cooling-off period should be implemented, the committee also stood by it, and it was passed by the committee and sent to Parliament."
He noted that an error occurred during the drafting of the bill's report. "The error was neither made by me nor by the committee," he said, adding, "I am confident that such errors will be the last."
He said that high-ranking officials were involved in the bill’s manipulation.
Khatiwada also questioned whether the error was solely his responsibility or that of the entire Parliament. He expressed confidence that the National Assembly would pass the bill with the committee's intent of including a two-year cooling-off period.
He said that he had no personal interest in the cooling-off period issue and that the investigation committee had not found him guilty either.
"Ramhari Khatiwada has not been explicitly declared guilty, but I am a disciple of Kisunji. Today, I prioritize the issue over the position, Honorable Speaker," he said. "I announce my resignation from the chairmanship of the State Affairs Committee with a smile, Honorable Speaker."
The Federal Civil Service Bill's report, prepared by the committee, had rendered the cooling-off period provision ineffective, which was meant to apply to senior government officials.
After the error in the bill became public, a probe committee was formed under the leadership of Nepali Congress lawmaker Jeevan Pariyar. The committee held Chairman Khatiwada politically and morally accountable.
"The report was presented to the House with the chairman’s signature, and as the signatory, the chairman, who holds the primary responsibility of the committee, did not demonstrate an accountable role regarding the serious error in the draft," the report stated.
Khatiwada did not resign even after the report was made public. He said that he would proceed according to his party’s instructions. But there were calls for Khatiwada’s resignation within the party too.
NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba then requested Khatiwada to resign, following which Khatiwada announced his resignation as committee chairman on Tuesday.
After the error in the cooling-off period was came to light, lawmakers from the CPN-UML had said that Khatiwada could not continue as the committee’s chairman.
