KATHMANDU, May 25: Former prime minister and coordinator of Naya Shakti Party, Nepal, Baburam Bhattarai, has challenged the government to present the implementation plan for its policy and programs for the next fiscal year.
Taking part in the deliberations in parliament on the government's policy and programs, Bhattarai accused the government of selling big dreams to the people without proper implementation vision.
“The policy and programs only sell dreams, without any implementation plan,” said Bhattarai.
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Bhattarai, also a former finance minister, also accused the policy and programs of making tall promises for each and every sector instead of focusing on the top priorities of the country. “While promising everything, there could be risk of ending up doing nothing,” he said.
Bhattarai hailed the ambitious plans in the government policy and programs, including doubling per capita income and agriculture products in five years, hydropower development and construction of major infrastructure projects and among others.
Welcoming the government's announcement for mega infrastructure development, expanding and upgrading road connectivity among other visions, he mentioned that the policy and programs lack proper planning and strategy to achieve the promised goals.
He was of the view that the failure of the policy and programs to address the needs of the provinces indicated that government was backtracking on federalism.
Main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) leader Dilendra Prasad Badu criticized the policy and programs for presenting visions for the next five years instead of annual plans. He demanded rewriting of the policy and programs stating that first budget of the federal parliament should focus on strengthening federalism in the country instead of showing big dreams for long terms.
Ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader Agni Prasad Sapkota appreciated the announcements made in the government's policy and programs.
Rastriya Janata Party Nepal leader Laxman Lal Karna argued that stability and prosperity cannot be achieved as envisioned in the policy and programs without amending the new constitution. Federal Socialist Forum Nepal leader Rajendra Shrestha demanded that the government distribute budget based on the per-capita income of the provinces.
