KATHMANDU, July 3: A member of the National Assembly, the upper house of the federal parliament, Sonam Gyalchhen Sherpa, has said that the ministers and parliamentarians who have access have passed the budget, allocating funds only for their areas.

Speaking at the National Assembly meeting on Monday, Sherpa said that only ministers and parliamentarians with access have taken the budget to their areas.

He said that MPs coming from mountain regions, oppressed and backward castes are viewed as inferior in the assembly. He accused the government secretaries at ministries of lying about budget constraints to allocate funds so as to benefit the big politicians, ignoring the needs of others.

He said, "We, as MPs, are treated as third-grade representatives. Only those MPs who have influential connections become ministers and receive significant budgets. MPs like us, who come from the mountainous region, oppressed castes, and backward castes, are considered as mere registered MPs. We have limited access to budgets and are unable to make any substantial changes. When we approach the secretaries, they deceive us by citing budget constraints and emphasize the need for projects of national pride. They pretend that the economy is struggling. Unfortunately, we, the ordinary people from mountainous regions, trust their words. Upon scrutiny, we discover that the big leaders have substantial budgets allocated for their areas while there is nothing for us."

 
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