Democracy not followed in passing advance expenditure bill: IFDS

A leading economic think tank has decried the hasty manner in which the advance expenditure bill was presented and approved through the Constituent Assembly (CA).

The Institute for Development Studies (IFDS) has said that denying public debate on the bill is not in keeping with the democratic norms.

"An unprecedented event of amending the constitution for an Advance Expense Bill was bad enough. What is worse is that the bill was passed on the same day that it was tabled. What is even worse is that it never underwent public scrutiny, it was never released to the media, and no grievances were heard or asked for," reads a statement by the IFDS.

"What is the point in commenting on the Advance Expense Bill or offering constructive criticism on a bill that has already been passed?" asks Dr. Raghab Dhoj Pant, executive director of IFDS.

"The only recourse for anybody who thinks the bill is unfair is a bandh or a strike. Has a new politburo emerged or are we reverting back to the Panchayat System? Either way, it does not matter. What matters is that this is not the democracy that we were promised," the IFDS further notes.

Minister for Finance Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat had presented the Advance Expense Bill of Rs 73 billion, about 43 percent of last year's budget, on July 14 in order to allow the government to run day to day expense and to collect revenue from the beginning of the new fiscal year (beginning July 16) until it is replaced by a full-fledged budget. nepalnews.com sd Jul 16 08