The Parliamentary Hearing Committee on Tuesday heard Samim Miya Ansari, the chairman nominee for the National Muslim Commission, but stopped short of taking a decision on him, just as it endorsed other names for four constitutional commissions.

Ansari's recommendation has run into a controversy, as there are charges that the birth date in his citizenship certificate does not match with that in the Kathmandu District Administration Office's records.

When he was nominated for the post on January 20, he was a central member of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), in violation of the prevailing laws. According to the Muslim Commission Act-2018, one must not be a member of any party at the time of appointment to qualify as the chairman or a member of the commission.

But Ansari is likely to get an automatic appointment unless the hearing committee rejects him within four days as the 45-day deadline for the hearing committee to decide on his nomination will end.

According to hearing committee members, the deadline ends on Saturday, leaving only two working days as Friday is the women’s day. Existing provisions say the committee must take a decision on the recommendations made by the Constitutional Council within 45 days, or else the recommendation is considered endorsed.

Clause 26 (2) of the Federal Parliament Joint Meeting and Joint Committee (Work Execution) Regulation 2075 BS clearly states that the appointment of the nominee won’t be affected if the PHC fails to send its opinion to the concerned authority within 45 days.

Following the hearing, committee Chairman Laxman Lal Karna said today’s meeting decided to seek details from the Kathmandu District Administration Office regarding Ansari’s dual dates of birth.

“We will sit soon if the district administration office sends the details. If not, we can do nothing,” Karna said, hinting that Ansari’s nomination would be automatically approved.

The controversy surrounding Ansari, however, has brought to the fore the divisions in the ruling communist party and how, according to some party insiders, Chairman and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli prevails over the party rank and file.

Ruling party leaders were clueless about the nominees to chair the five constitutional commissions during the latest Constitutional Council meeting as Oli did not feel it necessary to discuss the candidates in party committees.

“I don’t know anything about Samim Ansari’s nomination. There has been no discussion on Ansari and the controversy surrounding him in the party's formal meetings," said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the NCP spokesperson and a secretariat member.

Multiple leaders told the Post that a large section of the party did not want Ansari to lead the commission, especially after he was embroiled in controversies.

"But no one would speak explicitly," said an NCP Standing Committee member, claiming that pushing such a controversial figure would ultimately damage the reputation of the prime minister and the party.

Ruling party members on the hearing committee Yogesh Bhattarai and Surendra Pande suggested in Tuesday’s session that Ansari backtrack to avoid further legal controversy. However, Ansari had told the committee members that he would not do that as “I haven’t done anything wrong”. He even went on to challenge the committee to look into the complaints, which, he said, were aimed at defaming him.

"It would have been wise of Ansari to step back voluntarily," A PHC member quoted Bhattarai, who is also an NCP Standing Committee member, as suggesting Ansari.

Ansari also informed the hearing panel that he had tendered his resignation as a central committee member of the ruling party two days before his nomination but the NCP leadership had delayed its approval.

Party insiders believe that Oli, rather than the party, had thrown his weight behind Ansari. But they would not say why.

In an interview with the Post last week, Ansari had said the party had "rewarded" him for the contributions he made during the elections. Ansari joined the erstwhile CPN-UML in May 2018 as the party’s nominated CWC member after quitting the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal ahead of the 2017 elections. He retained the position after the party merged with the erstwhile CPN (Maoist Centre) to form the NCP.

The PHC has endorsed the names of four constitutional commission chairperson nominees—Balananda Poudel for the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission; Shanta Raj Subedi for the National Inclusive Commission; Bijay Kumar Dutt for the Madhesi Commission, and Bishnu Prasad Chaudhary for the Tharu Commission.

However, three members of the PHC representing the Nepali Congress boycotted the hearing of the five nominees claiming that the Constitutional Council recommended them in the absence of the opposition party leader.