NATIONAL 6 -(Spotlight Weekly)]

Under Fire

By criticizing the government's reform agenda, UML starts playing role of the opposition

By BHAGIRATH YOGI

Acharya and Adhikary : on the collision course

Hours before taking a flight on the way to China "to study economic developments in the Communist republic," senior leader of the UML and former Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari dropped a bomb shell. "We neither subscribe to nor support the reform agenda presented by the government at the Paris meeting," Adhikari told reporters at a press meet organized by the Central Planning and Monitoring Department of his party in the capital last Friday. "Whatever commitments have been made by the government in Nepal Development Forum meeting, they will only contribute to deepen poverty and unemployment in the country and invite further crisis into the economy,: he declared.

Adhikary's disenchantment was understandable as, according to him, the government didn't consult his party before making commitments in front of the donor community in Paris last month. "The government has missed an opportunity to move the country forward in the path of development through general consensus," said a statement issue by the party. "We have full disagreement not only with the policies (put forward by the government) but also with the process.:

Minister of Finance Mahesh Acharya had presented a comprehensive reform agenda in the Paris meet. The agenda, endorsed by the government, proposes to bring about institutional reforms, control corruption and re-orient development strategies toward the goal of poverty reduction. "Reforms is our own agenda. We will move toward it whether you support us or not," Acharya told the donor community.

UML's objection, it seems, is guided more by its political compulsions rhetoric than substance, said critics. "As the party is gearing up toward elections, both local and national, over a period of time, the party has no alternative than to criticize the government's policies," said an analyst. Interestingly, the statement issued by the party itself said there was a need to implement "extensive reform programs" with the participation of local bodies. "The forthcoming budget should aim at poverty alleviation but it should aim at a broad-based and poverty alleviation oriented," the party said.

Officials, on their part, said there was little room for disagreement. "Our priorities are the same," said Dr. Shankar Sharma, member of National Planning Commission. "If there are any specific differences regarding the implementation of reform package, it can be sorted out through mutual consultation."

In its thorough analysis of different sectors of the economy, the main opposition has concluded that over the last one year, since the Nepali Congress came to power, the economy is becoming weak every day. "Whatever signs of economic recovery are there, it is mainly due to better performance of the agriculture sector and the government has done nothing in it," the party said. Analysts say instead of spending time to find faults, it would be historic if the government and opposition sat together and developed a `broader consensus' to deal with major development challenges that the country is facing now.