The Maoists voiced strong reservations toward the unilaterally decision taken by the finance minister without consulting the main coalition partner, and asserted that they were still in favor of introducing a supplementary budget.
With opposition from the Maoists and the main opposition Nepali Congress, the new budget will now essentially slip into limbo, leaving the government in a fix about how to move ahead. [break]
This disagreement between UML and the Maoists will have wider ramifications for the government. Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal was expecting to receive names from the Maoist leadership for ministerial appointments and was hoping to expand his cabinet on Sunday. The Maoists are now unlikely to send the names anytime soon and cabinet expansion has become uncertain yet again.
“The two main coalition partners had reached an agreement to introduce a supplementary budget and it is surprising that the finance minister called an all-party meeting to announce he was bringing a full budget. We have serious objection to the minister´s unilateral move [in calling that meeting],” Maoist Secretary CP Gajurel told Republica.
He also criticized the prime minister and finance minister for not taking any initiatives to prepare a common minimum program (CMP) of the coalition government and form a high-level political mechanism to oversee government activities. Gajurel termed this non-implementation of the seven-point agreement which was inked between Prime Minister Khanal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal just ahead of the prime ministerial election.
“We will recommend nominees for ministerial berths only after settling the differences between the two parties,” said Gajurel.
Earlier, Speaker Subas Nembnag had said that bringing the budget on May 3 as planned by Minister Adhikari was not possible as the relevent parliamentary procedures would need more than a month at least.
He has also suggested the government seek the consent of coalition partners and the major opposition and other parties on proroguing the current parliamentary session and beginning the new budget session.
As uncertainty looms over an early budget, the Ministry of Finance has geared up consultations with all 27 political parties present in the Constituent Assembly to build a conducive environment for an early budget. At an all-party meeting organized by MoF on Friday, ministry officials briefed the parties about the exercises carried out so far for an early budget and sought their policy inputs.
“We basically sought inputs on the spirit of the budget and discussed the policy lines it should adopt,” said a member of the budget drafting committee, adding that the committee has already geared up budget preparations.
Talking to Republica, he said that during the meeting the ministry also sought support for an early budget.
Likewise, the Policy Recommendations Committee led by Dr Dinesh Chandra Devkota, officiating vice-chairman of the NPC, has already asked all the ministries to forward within a week their plans and programs for next fiscal year.
NC says no to early budget
Main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) has opposed the government´s attempt to bring an early full-fledged budget on May 3, and has urged that it unveil such a budget in early June.
Since Constituent Assembly (CA) members will have to devote their time to meeting the constitution-drafting deadline of May 28, it would be appropriate if the government brings a new budget in the first week of June, said NC Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire.
“However, we have made it clear that there must be pre-budget discussions before presenting the new budget in the House if the government anticipants support form the NC on the matter,” said Ghimire, who participated in the all-party meeting held at the call of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari on Friday.
Ghimire also ruled out the possibility of bringing a new budget on May 3 as announced earlier by the government. “We assured the government of our support for early endorsement of an appropriations bill if the government tables it in early June,” he said.
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