KATHMANDU, July 11: The opposition parties Wednesday called on President Ram Baran Yadav not to approve any budget to be introduced in violation of existing constitutional provisions.
Top leaders of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Rastriya Janasakti Party met the president at his office and made the call after learning that the Maoist-led government was reportedly preparing to introduce a "special budget".
"We told the president that they would not accept a budget that exceeds one-third of the actual expenditure of the current fiscal year," said Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, co-chairman of the Rastriya Janasakti Party, who was present during the meeting. "There is no constitutional provision for introducing a special budget," he added.
Though the ruling and opposition parties agreed on Tuesday to introduce only a partial budget, they differ on the amounts involved.
While the ruling parties have argued that the government should be allowed to introduce a special budget to meet the expenses to be incurred in holding the November 22 election and in integrating the ex-Maoist combatants, the opposition parties have maintained that in the absence of a parliament the caretaker government can only introduce a budget not exceeding one-third of the actual expenditures of the current fiscal year.
During Tuesday´s meeting, the ruling parties had sought opposition support for a special budget through the invoking of a constitutional provision on removing difficulties. But the opposition parties had rejected the idea.
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