KATHMANDU: Leaders of outgoing Maoist government claimed here on Sunday that their party - Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist — made a major contribution to economic revolution in the country.

“Our government gave the utmost importance to the economic transformation of the country,” Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ said in his inaugural speech of the first general assembly of National Trade Organization Nepal (NTON). He claimed that the Maoist-led government viewed with serious concern the issues of trade, commerce and industries. “Most of my meetings were held with businessmen and industrialists,” he said.

The Maoist government was guided by the strong belief that a ‘New Nepal’ would not be possible without economic development, he told the people. “I included businessmen and industrialists in my foreign visits to explore technology and markets,” he said.

According to ‘Prachanda’, a record high revenue collection, the self-employment programme and doubling the direct budget for the village development committees were the highlights of his government. He suspected that the upcoming government would not be able to utilize revenue in the proper manner. “My government was a corruption-free government,” he claimed, “Not one minister in it took a single penny in bribe.”

Former Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai urged traders and industrialists to boycott feudalism and foreign intervention in the economic sector. According to him, people who trade imported items are feudalists. “The Maoist one point agenda is to end feudalism and economic dependence on foreigners,” he said.

Seeking to allay the suspicions of the private sector, Dr Bhattrai said, “If you scrutinize the last budget, you will see that there is a

significant role for the private sector,” he said, “We only want to develop the national capital and mobilize it for nation building.”

He urged traders to unite under the umbrella of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI).

Speaking on the occasion, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor Deependra Bahadur Chhetri said financing in the development programmes was not a problem. Giving the example of oversubscriptions for initial public offering (IPO) of banks, he said, “NRB is bringing a policy to demoralize investment in unproductive sectors.”

President of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Binod Chaudhary thanked the Maoist government for their sincere concern for commerce and industries sectors.

He said that he hoped for their cooperation in the future issues of entrepreneurs when they would be in opposition in the Constituent Assembly. “We always need your help in building a business-friendly atmosphere. We hope that you continue your support in future also,” he urged.