Former governor resigns from NRB governor selection committee
The committee was formed by the cabinet on March 24 under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel.
KATHMANDU: Vijayanath Bhattrai, a member of the Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Selection Recommendation Committee and former governor, has resigned after the committee failed to hold a single meeting for over a month.
The committee was formed by the cabinet on March 24 under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel.
Bhattrai, along with expert member Bishwo Paudel, was appointed as a member of the committee.
Bhattrai cited several reasons for his resignation, including the committee’s failure to hold a meeting for an extended period and the disregard for its role. “There is no point in remaining on the committee now, so I have decided to resign from today (Tuesday),” Bhattrai said. He added that he had already sent his resignation to the committee chairman, Finance Minister Paudel, via WhatsApp and would submit the written resignation to the Ministry of Finance.
The selection of the new governor has become a subject of intense debate in political and economic circles.
However, the committee has not held a meeting for almost a month. According to the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, the new governor must be appointed at least a month before the vacancy arises.
The term of the former governor, Mahaprasad Adhikari, ended on April 6.
The government formed the selection committee on March 24, even before the end of the outgoing governor’s term. However, it took six days to issue letters to the committee members, and the first meeting still couldn’t take place by Monday.
The delay in appointing the new governor is largely due to a power struggle between the ruling Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML regarding who should be appointed as the next governor.
Members of the committee had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the delay in meetings.
In the meantime, as the appointment of the new governor is delayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Paudel has assigned the responsibilities of acting governor to Deputy Governor Neelam Dhungana Timsina.
