Caretaker govt may present budget

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: The caretaker government of Madhav Kumar Nepal is likely to present fiscal budget for the year 2010/2011 as the parties have failed to elect new Prime Minister time and again since Nepal stepped down on June 30.

The fifth round of the PM’s election is set for tomorrow. But it is unlikely that any one of the two PM hopefuls would get elected as the CPN-UML and four Madhes-based parties have decided to stay neutral calling for a national unity government.

Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang today called a joint meeting of the three major parties – Unified CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML – and United Democratic Madhesi Front at his chamber, where he drew the parties’ attention towards the looming political crisis and fiscal indiscipline due to the absence of an elected government.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the UCPN-Maoist, NC vice-president Ramchandra Paudel, UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and Mahantha Thakur of the Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party were present during the meeting. The Speaker reminded them that the fiscal budget estimates should be presented to the House not later than September 16.

“The budget should be passed within a week of presenting the estimates, as there is very little time to follow due parliamentary procedures,” the Speaker said after conferring with the leaders.

Finance Minister Surendra Pandey has already briefed the Speaker about the seriousness of the country’s financial health. A leader who was privy to the meeting said the Maoist leadership would have no other option but to agree on presenting the budget by the caretaker government if the parliament failed to elect new PM before September 16.

The leaders agreed, in principle, to “take enough time” to discuss the issues of peace, constitution and power-sharing if tomorrow’s election fails to elect the PM, Narayankaji Shrestha, vice-chairman, UCPN-Maoist, told mediapersons.

Sources said the next election would probably be scheduled for September 10. A final decision to this effect would be taken during tomorrow’s Parliamentary Business Advisory Committee meeting.

Paudel, who is in the PM’s race from the NC, said they would require adequate time to discuss those issues. He said the first point of the three-point agreement reached among the three major parties on May 28 needed to be implemented. The first point talks about implementing pending tasks of the peace process.

TMDP chief Mahantha Thakur, who represented the United Democratic Madhesi Front in the meeting, said he asked the three major parties to resolve their disputes.

“But they must clarify what constitutes the national consensus,” Thakur said, adding that the Front would make clear its position about its next move in tomorrow’s meeting.

The Speaker urged the parties to find ways for the formation of the new government. He reminded them that the caretaker government could not be held accountable in the parliament and its committees. “I have told them that the country cannot be left without having budget in place,” he added.