Kathmandu, 17 June 2022
The National Assembly has approved the proposal received from the House of Representatives with a message to consider the Appropriation Bill, 2079 BS by a majority. In the third meeting of the National Assembly on Friday, amid opposition from the main opposition party CPN (UML), Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented a proposal to consider the Appropriation Bill, 2079 BS. Chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina said that the appropriation title of the Appropriation Bill, 2079 BS will be discussed on June 22, 23 and 24 and the concerned minister will reply on June 26 and 27. In the second meeting held before that, Chief Whip of the UML National Assembly Khim Lal Bhattarai said that the activities during the preparation of the budget for the coming fiscal year have raised concerns. He said that he would boycott the meeting demanding to form a parliamentary inquiry committee into the issue of barring the parliamentarians from entering the finance ministry and allowing unauthorized persons in the name of experts. Similarly, in the first sitting of the National Assembly on Friday, the lawmakers objected to the government’s failure to provide any information on the State Partnership Program (SPP). MP Bamdev Gautam said the government should clarify the SPP agreement proposed by the US. He said that whoever initiated the SPP agreement, the then government led by CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli had taken it forward. The next meeting of the National Assembly has been convened on June 19 at 1 pm.