Ishwari Devi Neupane, chairperson of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee, has resigned from her position.
Neupane met with Speaker Devraj Ghimire on Tuesday afternoon and submitted her resignation.
“I would like to inform you that, due to special reasons, I am unable to continue in the position of chairperson of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. Therefore, I resign from the position of chairperson of the committee with immediate effect,” Neupane stated in her resignation letter submitted to Speaker Ghimire.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Nepali Congress decided to nominate Neupane as a candidate for the chairperson of the House of Representatives’ State Affairs and Good Governance Committee.
The decision was made during a meeting of the NC's top leaders held on Tuesday at the residence of party President Sher Bahadur Deuba in Budhanilkantha.
Deuba himself proposed Neupane for the chairperson of the State Affairs Committee.
Previously, Deuba and Vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka had suggested that Ramhari Khatiwada should continue as the chairperson of the State Affairs Committee.
After General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma opposed reinstating Khatiwada as the committee’s chairperson, Deuba proposed Neupane’s name, and a consensus was reached on her candidacy, according to an NC office-bearer who took part in the meeting.
“The Deuba faction did not want to give the chairpersonship of the State Affairs Committee to a lawmaker from the anti-establishment faction, so the president proposed the name of Neupane, who is close to him, and everyone agreed,” the office-bearer said.
The State Affairs Committee includes NC lawmakers Ambika Basnet, Gagan Thapa, Dilendra Prasad Badu, Bishwa Prakash Sharma, Sarita Prasai, Hridayaram Thani, Purna Bahadur Khadka, Ishwaridevi Neupane, and Ramhari Khatiwada as members.
Following the party's decision, Neupane resigned from her position as chairperson of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. She is scheduled to register her candidacy for the chairperson of the State Affairs Committee.
Ramhari Khatiwada, the former chairperson of the State Affairs Committee, resigned on August 12, after being held morally responsible by a parliamentary investigation committee for errors related to the cooling-off period provision in the Federal Civil Service Bill.
Neupane served as the chairperson of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee for one year. She was unanimously elected to the position on August 15, 2024.
