Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire and National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina have reminded President Ramchandra Paudel to appoint Padma Prasad Pandey as general secretary of the federal Parliament.

The Speaker and the chair sent a reminder letter to the President saying that the delay in appointment has affected the functioning of the federal legislature. Pandey has been leading the administration of the federal parliament for over a month as the acting chief.

Shekhar Adhikari, press adviser to Speaker Ghimire confirmed that the letter was sent to the President on Wednesday.

“We request to make the appointment to keep the functioning of the Parliament smooth and orderly,” the Speaker and the upper house chair said in the letter to the President.

The Parliament and President’s Office are at odds over the appointment.

Bharat Raj Gautam, the outgoing general secretary at the secretariat, submitted his resignation from the post to President Paudel on December 10. The next day, Speaker Ghimire, in consultation with Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, chair of the National Assembly, recommended Pandey as his replacement.

However, the President didn’t appoint Pandey saying that his nomination didn't follow the due process. His aides said that Pandey was recommended for the position before Gautam's resignation was even approved.

Paudel accepted Gautam's resignation on December 13, two days after Pandey was recommended for the position. His refusal to appoint the general secretary even led to a public dispute between the two state bodies.

However, after a month-long hiatus, the two sides are coming together to resolve the matter.

Following a refusal from the President to appoint Pandey, the Speaker on December 13 assigned him the duty of acting general secretary arguing the lack of administrative leadership had hampered the functioning of the Parliament Secretariat.