KATHMANDU, May 18: Members of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Monday aired their views on various matters of public concern including the annual policies and programs unveiled by the government recently.

Speaking at a meeting of the HoR, the parliamentarians drew the government's attention toward various issues.

Lawmakers from the opposition parties opined that the government’s policies and programs had failed to meet the people's expectations while the ruling party leaders defended the government on the same.

Bishnu Poudel, the general secretary of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, said that the government's priorities in the policies and programs are timely and right toward the direction of addressing the common people's concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Renu Yadav, a lawmaker from the Samajwadi Janata Party, criticized the government for failing to bring the body of a woman who had died of coronavirus on Thursday to Pashupati crematorium for her final rites, last week.

"Volunteers transported the body there after the government did not dare to do so. Still, the ruling party leaders are talking big and claiming that the government has made good preparations to take care of coronavirus patients and victims," she questioned.

Nepali Congress leader Prakashman Singh expressed concern over the deployment of Nepal Army personnel on the streets in Kathmandu under the pretext of maintaining peace and security. "It is the job of Nepal Police to maintain peace and security, not the army. And, why are Nepal Army personnel disrespecting the common people on the streets? The government should give an answer," he said. Singh viewed that the government should issue a new political map incorporating all Nepali territories as per the Sugauli Treaty.

Another Nepali Congress lawmaker Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said that the upcoming fiscal year budget should address the concerns of common people as they have been hit hard by COVID-19. "Keeping the people out of starvation and diseases should be the government's priority," he said.

The former finance minister also proposed to allocate at least Rs 15,000 for consecutive three months (Rs 5000 each month) for coronavirus-hit daily wage earners, workers and marginalized farmers.

In another context, he urged the government to retrieve encroached Nepali territories Limpiyadhura, Lipu Lekh and Kalapani by holding negotiations with India through diplomatic means. Sher Bahadur Tamang, a lawmaker from the ruling Nepal Communist Party, said that marijuana cultivation should be legalized in the country so that the country could generate more income making the national economy self-reliant.

"The first priority should be people's safety and agricultural development should be placed at the second place," he said.

 
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