11 parties in opposition to May 23 budget
KATHMANDU, April 29:
Eleven political parties, including the main opposition Nepali Congress, today handed over a three-point memorandum to Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and Speaker Subas Nembang, urging both to focus on peace and constitution-drafting processes.
The parties also asked PM Khanal and Speaker Nembang to keep the fiscal budget presentation aside till May 28.
“Putting on hold the issues of peace and constitution-drafting processes, the coalition government intends to present budget estimates for 2011/12 before May 28,” read the memorandum.
The memorandum to the PM and Speaker follows the government decision to present programmes and policies on May 10 and annual budget estimates on May 23. The opposition parties suspect that the government wanted to ‘distract their attention from peace and constitution-drafting processes’ by presenting the budget estimates before May 28.
“Country’s top priority for now are peace and constitution,” stated the memorandum. It added that the PM was not taking initiatives to conclude the peace process by activating the Special Committee (on supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants) and that Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had deferred the sub-committee meetings of the Constitutional Committee.
“How can we be sure that peace and constitution-drafting processes can move forward when both the legitimate bodies have remained nonfunctional?” the memorandum questioned.
It added that the PM-headed Special Committee had failed to make any progress on peace process ever since Khanal came to power on February 3. “It is highly objectionable that the government wants to table the fiscal budget before May 28,” said NC Parliamentary Party leader Ramchandra Paudel, adding: “ We will strongly oppose the government’s plan.”
But PM Khanal assured the opposition leaders that they should not be skeptical about his commitment to peace and constitution.
Besides NC and RJP, leaders of MJF-D, Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party, Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party-Nepal, Sadbhavana Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepali Janata Dal, Samajbadi Janata Dal, Dalit Janjati Party and Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch have signed the memorandum.
Source: THT
Eleven political parties, including the main opposition Nepali Congress, today handed over a three-point memorandum to Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and Speaker Subas Nembang, urging both to focus on peace and constitution-drafting processes.
The parties also asked PM Khanal and Speaker Nembang to keep the fiscal budget presentation aside till May 28.
“Putting on hold the issues of peace and constitution-drafting processes, the coalition government intends to present budget estimates for 2011/12 before May 28,” read the memorandum.
The memorandum to the PM and Speaker follows the government decision to present programmes and policies on May 10 and annual budget estimates on May 23. The opposition parties suspect that the government wanted to ‘distract their attention from peace and constitution-drafting processes’ by presenting the budget estimates before May 28.
“Country’s top priority for now are peace and constitution,” stated the memorandum. It added that the PM was not taking initiatives to conclude the peace process by activating the Special Committee (on supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants) and that Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had deferred the sub-committee meetings of the Constitutional Committee.
“How can we be sure that peace and constitution-drafting processes can move forward when both the legitimate bodies have remained nonfunctional?” the memorandum questioned.
It added that the PM-headed Special Committee had failed to make any progress on peace process ever since Khanal came to power on February 3. “It is highly objectionable that the government wants to table the fiscal budget before May 28,” said NC Parliamentary Party leader Ramchandra Paudel, adding: “ We will strongly oppose the government’s plan.”
But PM Khanal assured the opposition leaders that they should not be skeptical about his commitment to peace and constitution.
Besides NC and RJP, leaders of MJF-D, Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party, Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party-Nepal, Sadbhavana Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepali Janata Dal, Samajbadi Janata Dal, Dalit Janjati Party and Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch have signed the memorandum.
Source: THT
