“The government has taken the demand of civil servants seriously. We will hold talks with the civil servants´ representatives today and listen to their concerns,” said Minister Pandey at the legislature parliament on Wednesday. Minister Pandey was replying to queries from lawmakers on the budget for the new fiscal year presented by the government on Monday. He said the government will pay heed to the concerns of the civil servants.
Pandey also told the lawmakers that the government has its limitation while the aspirations of the people have soared.
“The aspirations of the people have gone up, but the government has to allocate budget to diverse sectors,” he said. The finance minister said that the government has taken up the issues and suggestions of the lawmakers positively and will try to address them.
When lawmakers said the provision to give Rs 100,000 to couples marrying inter-caste (between dalits and non-dalits) will encourage fake marriages, Minister Pandey said, “People have achieved a new high of political awareness, so I think the provision will not spawn fake marriages.”
Minister Pandey also said that the government would distribute identity cards to people with low incomes and provide them relief packages.
Speaking at the parliament, UML lawmaker and industrialist Binod Chaudhary said the government should introduce provisions for ensuring transparency in political parties. The lawmakers had asked Pandey to clarify on the development programs mentioned in the budget.
During the meeting, Speaker Subash Nemabang informed the lawmakers that the Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar has taken over the responsibilities of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal who left for Egypt on Tuesday to participate in the 15th summit meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The parliament also passed the vote on account through a voice vote. The vote-on-account was prsented by Finance Minister Pandey due to the delay in the presentation of the budget for the new fiscal year. The finance minister also tabled loan and guarantee bill, collection of national debt bill and appropriation bill at the parliament.
The speaker also adjourned the House meeting until July 19.
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