Budget Discussion Overshadowed as Parliamentary Calendar Faces Risk

Monday’s meeting of the House of Representatives could not enter its scheduled agenda after opposition parties insisted that Prime Minister Balendra Shah must personally respond to his remarks on the border dispute. The ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party did not accept the opposition demand and instead proposed that party chair Ravi Lamichhane address Parliament while Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal respond on foreign affairs-related matters. As the opposition refused the proposal, the meeting failed to proceed with its agenda and was adjourned until Tuesday at 1 pm. Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition sides have expressed dissatisfaction over repeated delays and obstruction in Parliament.

The obstruction has pushed budget discussion into the background and created a risk of disrupting the parliamentary calendar. Since the budget was presented on Jestha 15, the House has not been able to begin discussion on the annual estimates of revenue and expenditure, even though the issue has been listed on the agenda of every meeting since Jestha 17. According to the parliamentary calendar, discussions on different headings of the Appropriation Bill 2083 and proposals for expenditure cuts are scheduled from Jestha 27 and 28, while ministers are expected to begin responding to questions from Asar 1. The calendar also includes plans to pass the Appropriation Bill on Asar 2 and move forward with the National Debt Raising Bill and Economic Bill from Asar 3 and Asar 8. If the deadlock continues, these scheduled parliamentary processes could be affected.