Discussion on priorities of budget begins

By Ranju Kafle,Kathmandu, May 9: Discussion on principles and priorities of the Annual Appropriation Bill-2079 (except tax) for the coming fiscal year began in the House of Representatives (HoR) on Monday. In the discussion, the lawmakers of the ruling alliance stood in favour of the document and the main opposition opposed it.

Parliamentarians from the ruling alliance said that the document was the need of the hour to draft better appropriations for the next fiscal year as several targets were waiting to be fulfilled in time. However, lawmakers from the main opposition UML and Rastriya Swatantra Party said it was just a traditional draft and it could not fulfill the contemporary needs of the country.

Participating in the Lower House session, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, a leader of the ruling Nepali Congress who is also a former finance minister, welcomed the document of priority and principle, saying it focuses on sustainability. He stressed the need for prioritising the programmes that would create job opportunities and contribute to sustainable economic development by taking the economy on the road to improvement.

Karki suggested the government focus on production and employment while preparing the budget for the year ahead. "We do not have the luxury of making the budget excitedly due to shrinkage of income sources. In this present situation, a realistic budget is in need, but not a popular one," he said. 

He supported Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat for his commitments to get economic growth, to increase job opportunities, and to develop sustainable economy through the principles and priorities of the Bill.

However, the opposition parties expressed their unhappiness with the principles and priorities of the government. UML deputy chairman Bishnu Paudel suggested the government focus on the goal of prosperity. “Taking the country on the path to economic prosperity is the essence of this time,” he said. He also warned of possible economic recession in case of failure to take effective initiatives to improve negative indicators of the country's economy. 

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The budget should also accommodate the things keeping in view of the current economic challenges, he said.

Similarly, Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of Rastriya Swatantra Party, commented that the document was traditional and could not fulfill contemporary needs as the economy was in uneasy mode. “Traditional priority cannot address the contemporary challenges,” he said. 

Another leader Metmani Chaudhary from the ruling CPN (Unified Socialist) stressed the use of electric vehicles to control increasing trade gap. “Principle and priority should guide the economy towards energy production and its domestic consumption,” he said, adding that use of alternative energy can discourage petroleum consumption and control the trade deficit in the country.

Meeting disrupted for a few 

minutes 

Meanwhile, the deliberations in the HoR on the principles and priorities of the budget for the next financial year halted for a few minutes today because the MPs demanded the presence of the Finance Minister during the discussion in the House. 

Finance Minister Dr. Mahat appeared after the question was raised about the absence during the meeting. The House meeting was adjourned for 15 minutes. Speaker Devraj Ghimire had adjourned the meeting saying that Finance Minister could not attend due to technical reasons.

UML’s MPs Raghuji Pant, Surya Thapa, Rashtriya Swatantra Party’s MP Sumana Shrestha and others had insisted that the presence of the finance minister should be mandatory in the pre-budget discussion.

Amaresh warned for taking off clothes

Independent Member of Parliament Amaresh Kumar Singh became half-naked in the Lower House during the session as he got no chance to speak in zero hour.

Singh had requested for the emergency time to speak and took off his clothes when the Speaker denied him time. 

He protested by taking off his shirt and inner vest. Speaker Devraj Ghimire warned him for his ill-mannered behaviour and asked him to take care of the parliamentary dignity. 

In Rule 21 of the Rules of the House of Representatives, there is a provision related to the rules to be followed by the members participating in the discussions in the Parliament.

The provision states that the Speaker's conduct should not be criticised except during the discussion of the proposal and that the lawmaker willing to speak should stand up to draw the attention of the Speaker and speak only after the Speaker calls his/her name or gestures.