The annual budget-2009 will however pass only after other three bills -- the Finance Bill, the Bill to Mobilize National Debt, and the Bill on Debts and Guarantees-- are passed on Wednesday. [break]
Just two Maoist lawmakers attended the meeting.
The Appropriations Bill was passed after 27 ministers, including Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, replied to lawmakers´ queries on budget allocations for their respective ministries. Deliberations on the budget were held Monday.
With the endorsement of the Appropriations Bill the government has been greatly relieved as it was already walking a tightrope due to delay in passing the budget because the main opposition UCPN (Maoist) has been obstructing House proceedings over the last five months.
The government was becoming unable to provide funds even after government hospitals, prisons and other entities were running out of money and it had stopped providing essential services to the people. The government has recently stopped the salaries of ministers, lawmakers, Nepal Army and Nepal Police personnel and government employees for the same reason.
The endorsement of the bills became possible only after the Maoist party agreed to allow parliament to function for three days for the passage of the budget. The Maoist party had also allowed parliament to run for a few days to pass the Vote on Accounts Bill three months ago.
Present at the parliamentary meeting, when the Appropriations Bill was proposed by the finance minister and passed by a majority of lawmakers, were just two Maoist parliamentarians -- Ek Raj Bhandari and Padam Lal Bishwakarma.
The Maoist party´s parliamentary board at its meeting Tuesday morning decided not to actively participate in parliamentary procedures for endorsing the budget, as a protest against the government.
CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the Nepali Congress, among other ruling parties, had issued whips to their lawmakers to be compulsorily presence at the meeting. The largest party, UCPN (Maoist), has 237 members in the 601-member House.
The Maoist party has announced it is to resume obstruction of parliament once the budget is endorsed. The party has been protesting against the government and President Dr Ram Baran Yadav over the latter´s move blocking then prime minister and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal´s decision to sack then army chief Rookmangud Katawal.
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