Principles and priorities of budget are continuation of past: Lamichhane

Rastriya Swatantra Party’s president and MP, Rabi Lamichhane has said the principles and priorities of the Appropriation Bill for the Fiscal Year 2023/24 which the government has presented in the parliament are a continuation of the past policies.

Taking part in the deliberations on the Appropriation Bill in a meeting of the House of Representatives today, he viewed ‘impractical principles and priorities set in the past’ cannot resolve the pressing problems seen in the economy at present. “We have concluded that the principles and priorities of the budget have come as ritualistic only by tweaking some sentences and words here and there in the documents of past some years.

The economy is in an unprecedented situation at present and how can it be possible through this ritualistic plan to save the economy which has reached this condition and to provide relief to the general public,” the RSP leader said. He also lambasted the policies and priorities of the budget for the next year, saying the document is not capable of resolving the present problems of the society.

“I wonder whether always talking about the same thing is our habit or a gimmick to mislead the people. Do we sell dreams to the people or formulate practicable policies that are oriented towards addressing the burning problems,” Lamichhane said. The RSP president viewed that the country’s economy was in trouble due to the political mismanagement, anomalies and the organized corruption by politicians.

Stating that the economy is in an abnormal state and is stymied by resource shortage, he suggested cutting down on general expenditure and emphasize on result-oriented programmes. Lamichhane also stressed on promoting accountability and fiscal good governance to prop up the faltering economy.