Lawmakers across party lines on Tuesday demanded an investigation into the unauthorised and cunning tampering of the Federal Civil Service Bill, done without Parliament’s knowledge, and harsh punishment for those responsible.

The issue was discussed during the ongoing central committee meeting of the Nepali Congress, where it was condemned as a “betrayal”.

After it became known that the provision of a two-year “cooling-off period” for senior government officials after retirement was removed from the bill, throughout Tuesday, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, former prime ministers, senior party leaders, and members of the parliament’s State Affairs Committee and Good Governance Committee—which was entrusted to prepare the Bill and make changes—demanded a thorough investigation into what they termed “outright manipulation”.

Some lawmakers and members of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee accused the Parliament Secretariat, employees from the ministries of law, and general administration and the committee chair Ramhari Khatiwada of colluding to manipulate the bill in a way that high-ranking civil servants would not be affected by the cooling-off provision. Khatiwada has dismissed the allegations.

He issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that the distortion of the spirit of the “cooling-off period” provision in the bill while presenting it in Parliament is a serious error and unforgivable act.

“This is not normal,” he said. “I request the honourable Speaker to initiate an investigation into this matter. Likewise, I request the esteemed National Assembly to restore the cooling-off period provision.”

Khatiwada told the Congress party meeting on Tuesday that the clause to dilute the two-year ‘cooling-off period’ provision was inserted by the Ministry of Law.

Khatiwada said the provision passed by the committee was amended—as one sub-clause was changed and another added—before it reached Parliament. He added that Law Secretary Parashar Dhungana was absent from the meeting called by Speaker Devraj Ghimire.

Khatiwada said, “A sub-clause was inserted without our knowledge—none of us on the committee knew about it. We were not informed about what was written in the sub-clause. Not just the committee, even Parliament was not informed about it.”

Nepali Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said the matter should be probed because it was an act of betrayal.

He said, “We believe in the cooling-off period. That is why a decision was made unanimously to include the provision. Perhaps, based on that trust, honourable members in the full House did not read clause-by-clause details. But that trust was betrayed. Those who have misused their positions must be investigated. The provision should be restored and culprits punished.”

Besides Speaker Ghimire, former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai, Nepali Congress general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, Congress leader Shekhar Koirala, UML leader Padam Giri, and Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmakers including Sumana Shrestha have also demanded an in-depth investigation into the breach of parliamentary procedure.

According to Sub-section 4 of Clause 82 in the Federal Civil Service Bill, which has already been passed by the House of Representatives, civil servants who have retired or resigned are barred from holding constitutional, diplomatic or government-appointed positions for two years.

However, after Sub-section 4 of Clause 82, additional provisions—Sub-section 5 and sections (Ka), (Kha), and Ga—were added, exempting secretaries, joint-secretaries, and the chief secretary from this cooling-off period. And this amended version was passed by the lower House on Sunday.

Half of the 24 members of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, including Chairman Khatiwada, met with Speaker Devraj Ghimire and reported the manipulation.

Khatiwada told the Speaker that the unauthorised additions amounted to a serious deception.

However, recent developments suggest Chairman Khatiwada may not be as innocent as he claims.

During the meeting with the Speaker, Khatiwada admitted that he had instructed Committee Secretary Suraj Kumar Dura to finalise the bill based on the findings of the committee’s report—and “that is where the manipulation happened.”

Secretary Dura admitted during the same meeting that he inserted the additional sections (Ka, Kha, and Ga) after Sub-section 5.

The final report submitted by the State Affairs Committee did not have these additional sections. Dura admitted that he met with Mira Acharya, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, and Subash Kumar Bhattarai, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and together they added the three sections.

Even though Dura claimed that he and the two joint-secretaries coordinated to amend the bill, only Dura and chair Khatiwada’s signatures appear on the final report.

The names of the two joint-secretaries who helped manipulate the bill are not mentioned anywhere. But Dura confirmed that he had sat down with them to finalise the changes.

After the tampered bill was ready, it was handed over to Khatiwada. After he signed each page, Dura also signed it. The bill was then presented to the House of Representatives.

Both Dura and Khatiwada were mum on the additional clauses until the bill was passed.

Despite signing every page, Khatiwada continued to claim that not even a comma or full stop had been altered in the section concerning the cooling-off period.

Committee member Sarita Prasai said when she requested to review the finalised bill report—signed by the secretary and the chairperson—before it was submitted to the House of Representatives, Khatiwada told her it was “not necessary” and denied her access.

Even if the National Assembly does not make any amendments, Speaker Devraj Ghimire has assured that the bill will be returned to the House for revision.

However, one question remains unanswered: what action will be taken against the three civil servants and Chairperson Khatiwada for manipulating the bill and keeping Parliament in the dark?