The third session of Legislature-Parliament failed to commence on Tuesday, putting the plan to hold pre-budget discussion and present government’s policies and programmes in limbo.

Speaker Onsari Gharti announced the new session of Parliament on Tuesday. However, the main opposition party, the CPN-UML, obstructed parliamentary proceedings, expressing displeasure over the government’s decision to add number of local federal units.

A Cabinet meeting, on Monday, had endorsed the plan to add 22 new local units in Provinces 1, 2, 5 and 7 and give Birgunj and Biratangar the status of metropolis.

As per the schedule of Parliament, pre-budget discussion was supposed to take place on Tuesday followed by presentation of policies and programs by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Thursday. Pre-budget discussion, which used to be held for at least three days in the past, was reduced to one day this year due to lack of time for presentation of the budget of the next fiscal year. The Constitution requires the budget to be presented in Parliament on the 15th day of the Nepali calendar month of Jestha (May 29 this year).

According to legal expert Ram Narayan Bidari, ruling parties can now hold two Parliamentary sessions in a single day and hold pre-budget discussion in one of them, publish new schedule altogether or suspend the provision of holding pre-budget discussion for at least a day as mentioned in the Legislature Parliament Rule, to ensure that the President gets to read out policies and programmes.

The Ministry of Finance frames the annual budget based on policies and programmes read out by the President. However, the budget of the next fiscal year will not include new plans, as Election Commission has barred the government from doing so before completion of local level elections. “Since this budget will not include new plans, there is no need to read out policies and programmes,” a prominent CPN-UML leader said, adding, the main opposition will allow the government to present the  budget in Parliament.