Prime minister criticises decisions of parliamentary committees

Kathmandu, July 6

Lawmakers of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) today criticised their own government for bringing controversial bills in the Parliament and allowing ministers to allocate more budget to their constituencies.

They also sought answers from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal on why the party was prolonging the unification process.

They raised these issues during the NCP’s parliamentary party meeting today.

A lawmaker, who was present at the meeting, told THT that most of the lawmakers criticised ministers for allocating more budget to their districts or constituencies and ignoring others’ constituencies.

“The way the ministers have allocated budget to their constituencies reflect that they are ministers of only their constituencies and not the entire nation,” the lawmakers said.

Some lawmakers even told the PM that the government should consult party lawmakers before bringing crucial bills in the Parliament. They also asked the party leadership to allocate responsibilities to party leaders and complete the merger process as soon as possible.

Responding to lawmakers’ queries, PM Oli said the remaining merger process of the party would be completed as soon as possible.

According to NCP Chief Whip Dev Gurung, the PM told lawmakers there was lack of coordination between the party and the government and he would make efforts to intensify consultations between the two to minimise the gap.

PM Oli said if any member of the party wanted to criticise the party’s policies and functions, they should do so within the party and not outside.

PM Oli also criticised the parliamentary committee’s directive to stop the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards saying the parliamentary panel had issued the directive without fully knowing the facts. “The panel should not come up with immature decisions,” he said.

A few days ago, the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives had directed the government to halt the process of holding the IIFA awards ceremony in Nepal. A month ago, the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee had directed the Federal Public Service Commission and the government to scrap the public advertisement which sought to recruit 9,161 civil servants in 515 local levels.

The PM also spoke about the controversy related to checking pesticides in vegetables imported from India.

He said that the authorities would check for pesticides once the government had the proper system in place, including proper technology and required human resources.

Twenty-two lawmakers spoke today in the meeting.

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