Prez nod to budget through ordinance

ANANTA RAJ LUITEL

KATHMANDU:President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai today reached an agreement to bring budget through ordinance for the fiscal year 2012/13, respecting constitutional spirit.

In a meeting held at Shital Niwas, the Head of the State and the Prime Minister took the decision to resolve the financial crisis facing the country. “They reached the conclusion that the government will bring a budget as per the spirit of the Constitution,” Rajendra Dahal, Press Adviser to the President, told The Himalayan Times. Dahal, however, did not clarify whether this meant that the government would bring one-third of the current fiscal year's budget, but said ‘the budget will respect the constitutional spirit.'

The government needs to bring the budget this week. At a time when the major political parties have been opposing the full-fledged budget and the Supreme Court had directed the government last week to bring one-third of the current year’s budget, the prime minister assured the President to respect the spirit of the Constitution. The Head of the State has been insisting that the government should bring a downsized budget as per Article 96(A)(1) and (2), as it had failed to forge consensus among the major political parties for full-fledged budget.

During the meeting, the PM and the President also discussed the current political and constitutional crises, economic and social issues and elections. The PM spent more than two hours with the President. The meeting began around 8 pm.

Earlier, UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal also met the President and told mediapersons afterwards that the government would bring a full-fledged budget. Dahal had met the President the morning and told journalists that the budget will be brought with the political consensus. “Efforts are being made to forge consensus among the opposition parties to bring the budget.” Dahal had said.