Lawmakers demand resignation of committee chair over civil service bill tampering

July 2, Kathmandu: Lawmakers have demanded the resignation of Ramhari Khatiwada, Chair of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, following allegations of tampering with the Federal Civil Service Bill.

The controversy surrounds unauthorised changes to the bill’s “cooling-off period” clause, which was intended to bar retired senior civil servants from constitutional or government appointments for two years.

During an emergency meeting of the committee today, lawmakers, including Hridaya Ram Thani (Nepali Congress), Padam Giri (CPN-UML), Hitraj Pandey (CPN-Maoist Centre), and Prakash Adhikari (Janata Samajbadi Party) condemned the alterations, calling them a breach of parliamentary integrity.

They criticised Khatiwada for presenting a modified version of the bill in the House of Representatives without sharing the final report with committee members for review.

The lawmakers demanded an investigation into who influenced the changes and urged Khatiwada to step down, arguing that the incident undermines Nepal’s legislative process. Khatiwada has denied direct involvement, claiming the changes were made without the committee’s knowledge and has called for a probe.

He has also urged the National Assembly to restore the original cooling-off period provision. The issue has sparked widespread outrage, with political leaders across parties demanding accountability.