Pokharel lists 100-day successes

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: The 22-party coalition government is leading the country towards stability, Minister for Information and Communications Shankar Pokharel said today.

Making public the government’s success in the past 100 days, Pokharel said the coalition was able to maintain civilian

supremacy. “We’re committed to bring the ongoing peace process to a logical conclusion and adopt a new constitution on time,” he said.

Maintaining law and order, drafting the new constitution on time and bringing the ongoing peace process to a logical

conclusion are the government’s top priorities.

Pokharel said election of the head of the Constitutional Committee, formation of the Special Committee on Supervision, Rehabilitation and Integration of the verified Maoist combatants and improved security situation across the country were the highlights of the 100 days.

He said that the government had been able to collect 51 per cent more revenue this fiscal as compared to the last.

He conceded that the government had not been able to pass the budget as per schedule due to UCPN-Maoist’s continued obstruction of the legislature-parliament. “If they had let the House function, then the government could have passed the budget in time,” he said.

He added that the PM was holding formal and informal dialogues with the parties to forge a consensus on major issues.

Pokharel said that the government was working on a detailed security plan to restore law and order. He admitted that it was a Herculean task to restore law and order when the country was passing through a transition.

Incidentally, all the Nepali Congress ministers were conspicuous in their absence during the press conference. Pokharel maintained that they had to

attend their Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting.

He claimed that the NC CWC was dwelling on providing stability to the government.