KATHMANDU, July 20: The ruling CPN-UML has reversed its stance on the cooling-off period provision in the Federal Civil Service Bill. Despite previously agreeing to a two-year cooling-off period in the House of Representatives, the party has now proposed removing the provision entirely in the National Assembly.
A proposal to scrap the two-year period was registered under the leadership of UML Chief Whip Gopal Bhattarai. Meanwhile, coalition partner Nepali Congress (NC) and opposition parties CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist) have all backed retaining the provision.
The Maoist Center has proposed extending the cooling-off period to three years, while NC wants to keep the two-year provision unchanged. Unified Socialist has also proposed keeping a two-year term but removing the controversial term “except” from the bill, which had stirred confusion.
A total of 16 amendment proposals were filed before the 72-hour deadline at 5:15 pm on Friday.
Initially, UML had pushed for no cooling-off period or at most one year, but later agreed with the Congress and Maoist Center on two years in the House's State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, leading to the bill’s passage. The same version was endorsed by the full House.
However, the bill became controversial after inconsistencies arose between Clauses 82(4) and 82(5) regarding the cooling-off provision.
UML lawmakers Padam Giri, Krishna Gopal Shrestha, and Rajendra Rai accused committee chair Ramhari Khatiwada of manipulating the provision and demanded accountability. A parliamentary probe committee, led by NC lawmaker Jeevan Pariyar, is currently investigating how the clause was altered.
Clause 82(5) added the two-year restriction after Clause 82(4) had stated otherwise. The phrasing “except” in a sentence permitting post-retirement appointments created ambiguity and effectively nullified the proposed cooling-off rule—prompting criticism from several lawmakers and legal experts.