KATHMANDU, MAY 19

Lawmakers in the National Assembly, the Upper House of the federal Parliament, have urged the top leaders of political parties to think about the nation rather than engage in trading accusations.

They also suggested to the government that the budget for the next fiscal year should be focused on building a self-reliant economy. They said investment should be increased in agriculture and tourism, among other sectors.

Taking part in the deliberations on the principles and priorities of the Appropriation Bill for the fiscal 2022-23 in the Upper House today, they called on the party leadership to focus on the overall development of the country, including its economic advancement.

Taking time from the speaker in the third session of the House today, Jitendra Narayan Dev from the Nepali Congress urged the leaders of political parties to give first priority to the nation and lay emphasis on the economy instead of exchanging accusations and counter-accusation. He called on the opposition party to give constructive suggestions in this regard. 'National consensus is necessary to ensure national development and build a robust national economy,' he reiterated.

Narayan Kaji Shrestha from the CPN-Maoist Centre urged the political parties to take time for self-reflection and move ahead together for the economic development of the country by correcting shortcomings.

He stressed the need to make efforts to implement the constitution in a novel way.

Shrestha said the local units should take forward the development model by linking development with production and employment creation.

The former foreign affairs minister cautioned against making national policy, diplomacy and nationality as the means of fulfilling political interests of a particular party. He also emphasised that the budget for the next fiscal year should prioritise effective corruption control measures.

CPN-UML lawmaker Khimlal Bhattarai said the opposition party would be ready to collaborate only if the government had the right plan. He underscored the need to change the present political narrative towards development and prosperity rather than only indulging in politicking.

Dr Beduram Bhusal from the CPN (Unified Socialist) called for launching a campaign of national development along with social transformation through economic, social and cultural development as per the need of the time.

Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal's lawmaker Pramila Kumari stressed the need to make laws that would ensure equal participation of marginalised communities in all the state structures. She called for allocating the budget so that at least 60 per cent of it is spent in the local level.

Tula Prasad Bishwokarma from Rastriya Janamorcha Party underlined the need to banish caste-based discrimination and the practice of untouchability from the country and formulate Dalit-friendly laws as per the spirit of the constitution.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 20, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.