Kathmandu, May 20: The unnecessary delay in appointing the Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank has created deep mistrust between the ruling parties, the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML. Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has become upset after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli unexpectedly postponed the cabinet meeting where the governor was expected to be appointed on Monday. The seriousness of the dispute was revealed when Deuba refused to go to Baluwatar even when called by the Prime Minister.

The governor appointment process has been falling prey to political maneuvering for the past two months. The recommendation committee has not been able to hold a single meeting so far, and has been reconstituted twice. After Congress proposed former Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Bishwo Poudel, for the governor position, there was hope that the appointment would be made by Monday.

However, Prime Minister Oli has raised questions about Paudel's qualifications by bringing up his past political involvement and his candidacy in parliamentary elections. According to UML sources, the Prime Minister has shown interest in the provision of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058, which disqualifies members or office bearers of political parties from being appointed as governor.

However, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, reminding the Prime Minister that a prior agreement had been reached among the top leaders regarding Poudel, urged to finalize the process by Monday. Lekhak stated that the Prime Minister assured him that it would be finalized by Tuesday. Congress leaders, on the other hand, claim that there would be no legal hindrance in Poudel's appointment as it is a practice to separate from political parties before appointment.

Earlier, the Congress party had proposed the name of Gunakar Bhatt, the executive director of the central bank, but after the Prime Minister requested another name citing that his resignation was not accepted, Paudel's name was put forward. However, after the Prime Minister started expressing dissent over Paudel's name as well, Deuba became even more apprehensive.

Even though a writ has been filed against Poudel in the Supreme Court, it has not been registered yet, and the decision will be made on Tuesday. The Congress party has expressed suspicion about the Prime Minister's intentions by calling a cabinet meeting without holding a meeting of the recommendation committee and repeatedly questioning the candidate.

Congress leader Shekhar Koirala has accused Prime Minister Oli of conspiring to appoint his own person as governor. This incident has widened the distrust and rift within the ruling coalition.

People’s News Monitoring Service.