Kathmandu: With the full results of the general election held on March 21 still to be announced, the National Independent Party (NIP) conducted a media trial, saying that it would remove all those who had taken political appointments after forming its government.

‘The government wants to implement a fair and competitive appointment process based on new policies, laws and standards. It is expected that the public service and agency officials who were appointed yesterday will willingly pave the way.’

One of the most talked about political appointments is the governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank. Bishwa Poudel is currently the governor. It has not even been a year since the Congress-UML coalition government appointed him.

Meanwhile, talk has spread rapidly in Nepal Rastra Bank circles that the National Independent Party, which emerged from populism, is preparing to bring in a popular person as governor. Even before the government was formed, when the interim government tried to appoint a deputy governor to the Nepal Rastra Bank, current Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle called the then Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal and asked him not to make the appointment, saying that a powerful government was coming. Even after two weeks of the formation of the government, the government has not appointed a deputy governor. On the contrary, a search is underway for a new popular governor from within the Rastra Bank, according to a source from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

After Swarnim Wagle was appointed as the Finance Minister, there was a lot of talk in the market - what will the governor do? Wagle and Poudel, who were once close friends in the same party and personally, have not had good relations in the last few years. Therefore, it is natural that such a thing would attract attention.

Questions have started coming to Poudel about his resignation even at public events. Poudel has been saying that he would gladly make way if the Prime Minister asked for his resignation. Some have been of the opinion that Poudel should not be removed, saying that he played a significant role in making the economy dynamic after becoming the governor.

At an informal event last week, RSS General Secretary Kavindra Burlakoti had said that preparations were underway to appoint a popular employee from within the Rastra Bank as the governor. He said that for that, he would hold an internal election among the qualified employees within the National Bank and the one who gets the most votes would be taken to the appointment process, a participant present at the program said. General Secretary Burlakoti had said in the program that the appointment process will be legal but will be based on pre-election.

A recommendation committee should be formed for the appointment of the governor as per Sub-section 2 of Section 15 of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058. There is a legal process for the Council of Ministers to appoint one of the three people recommended by the committee. There is a provision for the recommendation of three people, including one from among the eminent persons in the fields of economic, monetary, financial, management and commercial law and the deputy governor. This law does not envisage recommending the executive directors of the National Bank for the governor. The Nepali Congress, on the other hand, is currently looking for the next popular governor from among the 17 executive directors in various departments of the National Bank.

In fact, it is not that easy to remove the governor of the National Bank. In 2058 BS, Nepali Congress Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya dismissed the then Governor Tilak Rawal from his post. After going to court against the dismissal, the court reinstated Rawal and ordered him to be removed only by making a law.

Then the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058 BS came into effect. Similarly, in 2079 BS, when the then Finance Minister Janardan Sharma dismissed the then Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, the Supreme Court ordered that the decision not be implemented immediately