Ramhari Khatiwada resigns as Parliamentary Committee Chair

By REPUBLICA
Published: August 12, 2025 04:48 PM

KATHMANDU, Aug 12: Ramhari Khatiwada, chairperson of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives, has stepped down from his post amid controversy over the removal of “cooling-off period” provision in the Federal Civil Service Bill.

Announcing his resignation during Tuesday’s House session, Khatiwada said, “Since the bill bears my signature, I feel it is my responsibility to step down.”

Khatiwada faced criticism after language that weakened the intended cooling-off period provision  was used in the bill, allegedly due to behind-the-scenes manipulation. A parliamentary special committee was formed to investigate, which, after 27 days of inquiry, held Khatiwada and others accountable in its report submitted on August 5.

Before the meeting began, Khatiwada met with Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire and Nepali Congress (NC) Chief Whip Shyam Kumar Ghimire. He said that on the very day the error in the bill became public, he had already returned official facilities including his vehicle.

Khatiwada maintained that he had always supported keeping a two-year cooling-off period and that the committee had approved and forwarded that version to Parliament. According to him, the discrepancy appeared during the report-writing phase and such errors should never happen again. He alleged that senior-level bureaucrats had influenced the changes.

Questioning whether the lapse was solely his or Parliament’s as a whole, Khatiwada said that he had no personal stake in the matter and the probe committee had not explicitly found him guilty. “The committee did not declare me at fault, but I was nurtured under the guidance of Kisunji,” he told the Speaker Ghimire, “Today, I choose to place integrity above position and with a smile, I announce my resignation as chair of the State Affairs Committee.”