KATHMANDU, July 17: Ramhari Khatiwada, chair of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, has stated that trusting government officials led to the blunder in the cooling-off period provision.
Giving his statement to the parliamentary probe committee on Wednesday, Khatiwada said he had not anticipated such an error. “The committee had unanimously decided to include a cooling-off period,” he said, “We never imagined that sub-clauses would be inserted to weaken or distort that provision. Trusting the officials led to the mistake.”
Khatiwada’s committee had mandated that retired civil servants must wait two years before being eligible for constitutional appointments. However, after the report passed the House of Representatives, it was discovered that older provisions that contradict the cooling-off clause had been retained.
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Lawmakers called this a serious breach and demanded a formal investigation. A probe committee was formed under Nepali Congress lawmaker Jiban Pariyar. The committee has started its investigation by recording a statement from Chair Khatiwada.
Earlier, Khatiwada had said he would take responsibility if found guilty. Lawmakers have continued to argue that he must be held accountable.
