The International Relations and Tourism Committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday directed the government to present the documents relating to the appointment of Laxmi Pun as the executive director of the Pashupati Area Development Trust.

A meeting of the committee directed the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the trust authority to produce the minutes of the decision, academic credentials, proof of her experience and resume within three days. Her appointment as the executive head of the trust of the most sacred Hindu shrine in Nepal has met with criticism.

A meeting of the trust management council on December 20 appointed Pun, a CPN (Maoist Centre) leader in the position. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sudan Rai of the party leads the trust.

The House committee had summoned Deepak Kafle, secretary at the ministry, and Raju Kumar Khatri, member secretary at the trust, to discuss the appointment where the lawmakers had quizzed them on the appointment process.

“Is the appointee qualified to hold the position?” asked Ek Nath Dhakal, a member of the House committee. One needs to have 15 years of experience with a master's degree or 20 years of experience given that s/he has completed a bachelor's degree to qualify as an executive director.

Claiming that Pun was a Maoist candidate under the proportional representation (PR) category of the House election, Dhakal further questioned: “Can a PR candidate from any particular party become the executive director of a government entity?” Pun was a personal assistant to then-Speaker Onasari Gharti.

Lawmakers from various parties raised questions over the transparency in the appointment process. Shishir Khanal, a member of the committee from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, asked for the basis on which Pun got the post. “What were the criteria for candidate selection and how did Pun qualify for it?” said Khanal.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmakers even claimed that Pun doesn’t follow the Hindu religion. “Appointing a non-Hindu to a senior position in the Hindu shrine is unacceptable,” said Dhawal Shumsher Rana, a lawmaker from the party. “This is a serious issue. It calls for a fair and prompt action.”

The practice over the years is to appoint those close to the ruling parties to the steering committee of the Pashupati temple management.

Of late, Kirati himself has run into controversy, for his statement relating to religion. The decision to appoint Pun has fanned the fire.

The officials at the House committee say the committee will first study the documents once it receives them and will make needful decisions accordingly. “The committee’s next meeting will be called after it receives the documents,” said Babita Mishra, secretary of the committee.

Thursday’s meeting of the House committee also directed the ministry and the trust to have proper measurement of all the land under the temple and prepare land registration certificates if necessary and bring it under the possession of the trust. Huge chunk of land of the trust has been encroached for years.