KATHMANDU, JULY 4
Leader of the main Opposition KP Sharma Oli today assailed the government for 'favouring' a few business houses through budgetary programmes.
Speaking from the rostrum of the House of Representatives, Oli alleged that the government changed the tax rates to benefit a few business houses. He demanded that the Parliament form a probe committee to investigate outsiders' intervention in the budget and deletion of CCTV footage captured on May 28, a day before the budget was presented in the HoR.
CPN-UML has been accusing the finance minister of allowing outsiders to tweak the budget.
"Representatives of business houses were allowed to interfere with the budget. What can be more shameful than that?" Oli wondered. He said allowing outside interference in the budget was a crime against the country.
He flayed the prime minister for not removing Finance Minister Janardan Sharma 'for serving the interests of a few business houses'.
Oli said the government reduced excise duty on some products and slapped excise duty on others that were exempted only to benefit certain business houses. He said one business house placed an order for a large number of vehicles after the government changed the tax rate.
Commenting on the letters written by the then army chief General Rajendra Chhetri to US Ambassador Alaina B Teplitz requesting to join the State Partnership Programme, Oli said, "The Nepali Army has said that it is a practice to write handwritten dates on letters. How can this happen?" He said the decision to join the SPP was taken by the Sushil Koirala government before he became the PM in 2015. "The government should present all documents to the Parliament if it has any evidence that could show I had given any instruction on Nepal's participation in the SPP," he added. "How can such letters be written without the knowledge of the prime minister and the defence minister?" Oli wondered.
He said farmers were desperately waiting for the government to provide fertilisers in the market, but the government was busy saving the ruling coalition.
This coalition is a bane for the country and economy because it has added to people's woes. He blamed the coalition partner for not supporting the citizenship ordinance brought by his government.
It is unfair to deny citizenship to children of Nepali citizens, citizenship bill should have been passed two years ago, Oli added.
Oli also accused the government of impairing relations with neighbour(s). He, however, did not name the neighbour.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 5, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
