Kathmandu, June 26

Lawmakers representing the main opposition Nepali Congress today opposed the prime minister’s move bringing three departments — Department of Money Laundering Investigation, Inland Revenue Department and National Investigative Department — under the purview of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

Previously, the DoMLI and IRD were under the Ministry of Finance, while the NID was under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

NC Chief Whip Balkrishna Khand and lawmakers Dilendra Prasad Badu, Rajendra KC and Minendra Rijal said PM KP Sharma Oli’s move suggested he wanted to centralise power and was not committed to strengthening federalism.

Terming the PM’s move ‘anarchic’, KC said, “This is a bad decision.”

Lawmaker Badu said the PM’s move was against the spirit of federalism and amounted to ‘centralism’. He also said the OPMCM had been allocated the most resources in this year’s budget.

“The OPMCM has been allotted 11.88 per cent of the budget, which is higher than what was earmarked for any other ministry. This does not suggest good intention of the government,” said Badu taking part in the discussion in the House of Representatives.

Khand charged that Oli was trying to weaken federalism and strengthen the OPMCM. “We have been saying that the government has reached people’s doorsteps, but the budget allocation proves the claim wrong,” he said.

Another Nepali Congress Lawmaker Rijal asked why every department should be brought under the purview of the OPMCM. “Departments assigned with specific tasks had been functioning under respective line ministries. What is the reason for bringing these departments under the OPMCM?” He asked, adding that the move was not a very good ‘signal’.

The lawmakers also charged that the government had presented the budget without proper preparations, terming it ‘centralised’.