Kathmandu, March 25

The main opposition Nepal Congress has concluded that the government has not been answerable to the Parliament.

A meeting of the NC parliamentary party today concluded that neither the prime minister nor ministers were eager to answer questions on national issues raised by the opposition. The NC reached the conclusion that the government had not only failed to work towards strengthening federalism, but it was making moves to centralise all the powers in the prime minister’s office.

NC Whip Pushpa Bhusal Gautam said moves such as provisioning army mobilisation by the PM, authorising the PM to award large contracts without bidding, and curtailing press freedom through information technology laws were some examples of the government’s bid to centralise power.

She said the government had dilly-dallied while endorsing the crucial Citizenship Bill, but had fast-tracked other bills without proper consultation. “We will take up all these issues in the future,” she said.