Nepal, June 26 -- Those keeping up with the various twists and turns of the saga would agree there has been a 'will-it-won't-it' edge to parliament's attempt to force bureaucrats to take a two-year break after leaving government service in order to become eligible for state appointments. After years of to-ing and fro-ing and over serious objections from the top brass of the civil servants, it appeared that the politicians had finally prevailed. Or, so it seemed.

Consider these news items from this newspaper. On May 17, 2025, the headline went "Federal Civil Service Bill moves on after deal at parliamentary panel" with the dek reading, "Retirement age raised, cooling-off period set. Bill lays ground for administrative federalism". That wa...