“I have asked the concerned officials to prepare the budget and the government will table it in parliament if the new government is not formed by October-end,” CPN-UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari quoted Prime Minister Nepal as telling the political party leaders during a meeting at his office Sunday. [break]Nepal had called a meeting of the political parties in the Constituent Assembly (CA) to discuss the issue of budget.
“The government would be formed sooner or later, but the economy will not wait for the new government,” the prime minister told the leaders. He asked the parties for their cooperation.
Most of the leaders also advised him to table the budget if the new government is not formed by October-end.
“You may continue bickering over who will be the next prime minister, but you should not be frivolous on issues that would affect the livelihood of the commoners,” Rastryia Janashakti Party co-chair Prakash Chandra Lohani advised the prime minister.
NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel said the NC would not obstruct the caretaker government from tabling the budget, but he argued that the parties must review why the government did not seek consensus during the last three months.
UML chairman Jhalanath Khanal said that the annual budget can be tabled in the parliament through political consensus and requested the prime minister to make preparations in this regard.
However, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party leader Hrideyesh Tripathi argued that the caretaker government doesn´t have the right to table the budget. He stressed on the need for political consensus for the formation of a new government.
During the meeting, Finance Ministry officials had briefed the leaders about the economy of the country and requested the leaders to pass the annual budget by the Kartik-end.
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