KATHMANDU: Lawmakers have held discussions with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Devraj Ghimire, regarding the “cooling-off period” provision.

The meeting took place at Speaker Ghimire’s office in Singha Durbar. Among the participants were Chairperson of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee Ramhari Khatiwada, CPN (Unified Socialist) leader Rajendra Pandey, Nepali Congress lawmaker Ishwari Devi Neupane, CPN-UML’s Krishna Gopal Shrestha, and Prakash Adhikari of the Janata Samajwadi Party, among others.

Similarly, senior Nepali Congress leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala and CPN-UML lawmaker Surya Thapa have strongly criticized the recent alteration to the cooling-off period provision, calling it unacceptable and detrimental to parliamentary integrity.

Dr. Koirala warned that such changes could erode democratic spirit and violate the sovereignty of the Parliament.

Lawmaker Surya Thapa went a step further, stating that the responsibility for the controversial change lies squarely with State Affairs Committee Chairperson Ramhari Khatiwada.

Thapa argued that Khatiwada, as the head of the committee overseeing the revision, must be held accountable for bypassing broader consensus.