KATHMANDU, MAY 28

The House of Representatives today endorsed the government's policies and programmes.

Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota had put the policies and programmes to vote.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba responding to lawmakers' observations on government policies and programmes, took a potshot at UML Chair KP Sharma Oli for asking him why he was not receiving the Eminent Persons Group report.

PM Deuba said, 'The EPG report was prepared three years ago. Why was this report not received by Nepal's PM back then?'

Three years ago Oli was the prime minister.

He said Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani were Nepali territory and the government was making diplomatic efforts to take those areas back.

He said Nepal was committed to the policy of non-aligment and one China policy.

In response to the Belt and Road Initiative agreements, Deuba said those projects were loan projects and the government would move them after forging national consensus on the issue.

The PM said that the government was focusing on promising areas of economy such as transport, energy, information technology and tourism to achieve the goals of economic growth.

The PM also said the government would have to forge national consensus on whether to have a seven or five-year waiting period for foreign women married to Nepalis to obtain matrimonial citizenship.

On the issue of Nijgadh International Airport, Deuba said the government would peruse the Supreme Court verdict and take a call on the issue.

He said the government would try to remove external pressure from the national economy and remove liquidity crunch in banking institutions.

Responding to lawmakers' observations on the government's policies and programmes, Deuba said the government would implement federalism. He said the government would immediately provide seeds and fertilisers to farmers.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 29, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.