KATHMANDU, JUL 08 -
President Ram Baran Yadav has urged the government to understand its constitutional and political limitations while bringing the budget for next fiscal year.
Yadav made this suggestion during a meeting with Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun at his residence in Sheetal Niwas on Saturday evening. Pun, accompanied by top officials of
the Finance Ministry, briefed Yadav on the government’s preparations for unveiling a ‘full budget’ worth Rs 429 billion for the next fiscal year.
During the ‘candid and frank’ exchange that lasted for three hours, Yadav urged Pun to abide by the aspirations of the Interim Constitution while finalising the budget. He also underscored the need for political consensus among parties over the issue.
“The President urged the government to bear in mind before making any decision that the parliament does not exist and the date for next elections has been fixed,” said President’s Press Advisor Rajendra Dahal. “He urged the finance minister to consider the electoral code of conduct, the recent verdict of the Supreme Court and international experiences while bringing the budget under such circumstances.”
Indirectly, the President drew the attention of the finance minister towards Article 96 of the Interim Constitution that envisages a way out in a circumstance in which budget cannot be tabled before the parliament. Article 96 (1) stipulates that the budget should not exceed one third of the current year’s total expenditures in case of such an emergency.
Pun is said to have told the President that Article 96 (1) of the Interim Constitution will not be attracted in the present context. “As per our past experiences, the article was attracted when the parliament existed but it was not convening at the moment. I have told the President that we will discuss the matter with other political parties and constitution experts.” The finance minister suggested that a full budget can be brought as an ordinance under Article 88 of the Interim Constitution. Dahal said that the President urged the finance minister to work towards setting a ‘positive precedence’ in this complex political transition. Yadav also asked Pun to quote an article under which the fiscal estimates were going to be announced.
The meeting comes at a time when opposition parties have mounted pressure on President Yadav to use his discretionary powers to stop the Baburam Bhattarai-led caretaker government from declaring a “full-fledged budget”. Top leaders of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, among other parties, have submitted a petition urging the President to block the budget ordinance proposed by the government if it dictates fiscal programmes beyond the one third ceiling.
Talking to reporters, Finance Minister Pun said the government was cautious about not inviting a confrontation with the President over the budget. “We have declared the election in a compulsive situation. We have not been able to forge consensus on the budget,” he said. “In such a situation, there should not be any misunderstanding between the head of the state and the government. We do not want to create any difficult situation.”
Pun described the meeting with the President as “positive” and said the government will follow the Interim Constitution and international experiences while unveiling the budget. President’s Advisor Dahal also dismissed disagreement between the President and the government over the budget. “There have been regular consultations between the two sides. We hope the government will set a positive precedence while announcing the budget,” added Dahal.
Pun was accompanied by Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Banskota and ministry’s Budget Department Chief Lok Darshan Regmi in the meeting. The government delegation informed the President about the attempts being made to reach a political consensus.
Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/07/08/top-story/prez-to-govt-abide-by-constitution/356776/
0 comments:
Post a Comment