While participating in the discussion on the budget in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the leaders of the main opposition party CPN-UML and parties outside the government have criticized the budget and questioned its relevance.

Vice Chairman of the main opposition party UML and former finance minister Bishnu Poudel has said that the budget brought by the government is against federalism. Poudel also remarked that the budget has cut the rights of the state and local levels. He was outraged that the government had cut off the power of the state and local levels to choose their own plans, saying it was an anti-federal move.

CPN-UML Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai said that the budget presented by the government is standing at a crossroads and was aimless. He said that the budget would not benefit the country. This budget stands at a crossroads. Smells like Mao and Marx. There is no destination of this budget. Bhattarai had criticized the budget for not increasing the budget for education and health as the commission would not come from such sectors. Criticizing Finance Minister Sharma, Bhattarai said that the briefcase was not smashed while the budget was presented by the Finance Minister in the Parliament and it was a positive achievement and is the sign of Nepal’s democracy and constitutional process being matured.

Anil Kumar Jha, an MP from Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LOSPA), said that the budget was brought for the upcoming elections focusing on the party cadres. It seems the budget is to engage your cadres in the election to be held in 6 months. He has criticized the government saying that the budget has been prepared in such a way that some sort of amount could be distributed to two to four lakh cadres.