Heat wave inside ruling coalition, concerns over Cooling off period divides NC and UML

UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula publicly denounced efforts to intimidate Members of Parliament over amendments to the Federal Civil Service Bill as “irresponsible.”

 His rebuke came after concerns that Nepali Congress lawmakers had expressed favouring a two year cooling off period for bureaucrats willing to take post retirement employment much against UML

 Bartaula said the position taken by certain leaders of the Nepali Congress exhibited a lack of legislative understanding and procedural clarity. He called on Congress General Secretary Bishwaprakash Sharma to resolve the matter privately with party leadership rather than through media posturing, underlining that MPs possess autonomous decision-making power on legislative matters.

At the heart of the dispute lies the controversial removal of the two-year “cooling-off period” clause—a safeguard against immediate political appointments by retired senior bureaucrats. UML legislators quietly moved to repeal this provision after it had been unanimously approved by the State Affairs Committee. That discrepancy triggered outrage and led to the formation of a seven-member parliamentary committee, chaired by Nepali Congress MP Jeevan Pariyar, tasked with investigating who manipulated the clause and how it diverged from the committee’s consensus.

Behind the scenes, the controversy reflects more than disagreement over a clause—it exposes the growing dominance of bureaucratic influence in lawmaking. Top civil service officials, led by Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal, reportedly lobbied  to eliminate the cooling-off clause, even warning of protest if his views were ignored.  This pressure reportedly influenced parliamentary process.

Meanwhile, civil servants themselves have escalated protests over broader aspects of the bill, donning black armbands to demand more favorable terms—claiming that several provisions would impede promotions and undermine fairness. Their mounting discontent, shared across multiple unions affiliated with different parties, signals deep unease with both the legislative intent and the coalition’s handling of the reform.

Nepali Congress leader Shekhar Koirala has been especially vocal, labeling UML’s actions a betrayal of public trust and a breach of the alliance’s consensus. He  called on Congress to demand clarity and unite to block the amendment entirely, warning that UML’s double standards threaten the integrity of the coalition government.

These developments suggest a coalition under stress—not from external opposition, but from internal conflict over process, principle, and political power.