Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Gagan Thapa has said the government has defamed the parliament by providing Rs 60 million to the lawmakers.
Speaking during the discussion on the recent budget in the House of Representatives (HoR) on Tuesday, he complained that the government has given Rs 60 million to the lawmakers ignoring policy issues and told them to go to their respective constituencies taking the money.
"I am a directly elected lawmaker. I also know that we should be connected to the demand for development. I also want to be connected," he added. "The budget talks about Melamchi project, constructing tunnel way to connect with the capital, encroached land, green urbanization, cycle city and other issues. These issues are related to my constituency. I want to be connected on that. I raise questions about how we can be connected but don't get answers. I present proposals in the parliament but they are not discussed."
He slammed the government for ignoring elected lawmakers on the issues of development related to their respective constituencies and providing Rs 60 million to be spent by directly elected lawmakers to silence them.
"The government keeps me apart from all these things and tells me 'honorable lawmaker you have received Rs 60 million. Go to your constituency and build the walls of temples, community buildings, buildings for grieving persons. Get connected to the people'," he pointed. "We don't want Rs 60 million to be connected with the people but want to connect with policies worth Rs 6 billion and even Rs 600 billion related to our places. We want to be connected with plans.
"And the parliament cannot be defamed by telling us to go away with Rs 60 million," he stated.
He claimed that the prime minister and even speaker have selected projects of their constituencies in the budget.
He criticized the budget saying it is such abysmal as the ruling CPN does not have any principle. He claimed that the budget has ignored the past studies and it does not give the feel of a stable government. "I want to ask finance minister, should I be happy about the budget as a lawmaker or sad as a citizen? I am confused."
He fired a riposte at CPN General Secretary Bishnu Paudel who on Monday had challenged the main opposition NC to oppose the hike in elderly allowance.
The budget presented on May 29 has raised elderly allowance to Rs 3,000 a month from Rs 2,000.
"A powerful lawmaker who can shake the foundation of Baluwatar stood here and challenged if anyone has the courage to speak about elderly allowance. I have the courage," Thapa riposted during the HoR meeting on Tuesday.
Thapa reminded that he opposed the decision of the government of his party president Sher Bahadur Deuba to bring down the eligibility for elderly allowance to 65 years and raise it to Rs 5,000 a month in the past.
"I did not just opposed the decision of the then outgoing Deuba government to bring down the eligibility for elderly allowance to 65 years and raise it to Rs 5,000 a month saying it cannot be raised on whims. I am a lawmaker who filed an amendment proposal saying the base year should be made 70 years when the law was drafted," Thapa stated.
"There are so many social security programs. They need to be integrated and rationalized, and there should be differentiation about which should be made universal, which targeted, and which connected to production. The biggest issue is social security is not just cash transfer. Is it not appropriate to discuss to provide facilities worth Rs 30,000 and not just Rs 3,000 through non-cash provisions?" he questioned.
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