Parties give govt hard time over budget

KATHMANDU, July 3: The government is having a hard time accommodating the demands put forth both by ruling coalition partners and opposition parties as it goes about finalizing its annual policy and programs to be presented in parliament on Sunday.



Not only have the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) and Madhes-based parties put forth their demands, the main coalition partner, UCPN (Maoist), has also put the government in fix by forwarding its own various demands including provision of Rs 1 million each as a relief package to the kin of those killed during the decade-long Maoist insurgency. [break]



The Maoists as a ruling partner have not only pressed the prime minister and the finance minister to incorporate more programs suggested by them but also exerted pressure to give continuity to programs introduced by the Maoists in the past.



Sources close to Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal said the government is trying its best to incorporate the demands of both opposition and coalition partners as failure to do so would mean the government can face House obstruction. Differences among the ruling and opposition parties last year had resulted in manhandling in parliament and the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led government was subsequently forced to introduce the budget through ordinance after proroguing the parliament session.



Submitting a 16-point demand to Prime Minister Khanal on Saturday, the NC demanded that the government give continuity to the ´people-oriented and successful´ programs introduced during the NC-led government. It has emphasized the need for rendering more effective NC-introduced programs including Garivsanga Bisheshwar (Bisheshwar with the Poor), Ganesh Man Peace Campaign and Karnali Rojgar (jobs).



Meantime, the UDMF has demanded that the government allocate Rs 5 million to establish schools in the names of each of the 52 martyrs of the Madhes movement, in their respective districts.



In its 15-point memorandum, the UDMF has demanded allocation of a sufficient budget for the construction of postal roads and the proposed East-West Railway in the Tarai.



Officials at the prime minister´s office said the government policy and programs will focus mainly on accomplishing the twin tasks of constitution writing and completion of the peace process, successful management of the transitional period and addressing people´s aspirations.



Prime Minister´s Press Advisor Surya Thapa said the government will obviously give priority to the programs of the ruling parties but it will also try to accommodate opposition demands, given the sensitivity of the transitional period.



"Under democratic principle, ruling parties are the ones that set and introduce the government´s policy and program but the present government is for incorporating the opposition´s suggestions as well because we have agreed to adopt a politics of consensus," Thapa told Republica.



He was quick to add that the five-point deal reached among the major parties on May 28 has blurred the differences between the ruling and other parties. "If one ponders the present political reality, the ruling parties are not just the UML, Maoists and Forum but the other parties as well. Some are incumbent ruling parties while others are in waiting," Thapa said.



President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav is scheduled to present the government´s policies and programs on Sunday and the government is planning to introduce its annual budget on July 14.

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