Nepal: Houses passes Rs 285.93 billion budget

After six-month of Maoist obstructions, the Legislature Parliament on Wednesday endorsed the budget for the fiscal year 2009/10 by overwhelming majority.

The budget was endorsed after the House passed the finance bill, the bill on national debt recovery and the bill on debt and collaterals.

Finance Minister Surendra Pandey had presented the Rs 285.93 billion budget in July 16. But the continued House obstruction on the part of the Maoists had made the House unable to pass the budget.

As a symbolic protest over the issue of ‘civilian supremacy’ vis a vis president’s move to reinstate then army chief, the Maoist did not take part in the discussions in the bills presented by Finance Minister Pandey.

Only two of the total Maoist lawmakers - Padam Lal Biswokarma and Ek Raj Bhandari - attended the House session on Wednesday. The party had also sent only two of its lawmakers to the budget sitting on Tuesday and did not take part in the discussion on the bill.

This comes as a big relief to the embattled 22-party coalition government as it was facing hard time even to provide salary to the civil servants, army and police due to prolonged delay in passing the budget through House.

The Maoists have announced that they would continue with stringent protest programs including House obstruction if the president’s move is not corrected.

The party has already announced third phase of protest programs against the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led government.

The former rebels, who fought a decade-long civil war with the state before getting majority seats in the Constituent Assembly held in April, 2008, stepped down from the government in May 2009 after President Dr Ram Baran Yadav reinstated then army chief Rookamangud Katawal sacked by the Maoist-led government.

- Asian Tribune -