The parliamentary party of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) today decided not to take salary for the month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) and deposit the same in the government’s COVID-19 Prevention, Control and Treatment Fund. The party decided to do so after the government’s move to provide Dashain allowance to lawmakers drew flak from the general public and civil society members.

NCP Whip in the National Assembly Khim Lal Bhattarai said NCP lawmakers in both the houses of the parliament decided to deposit one month’s salary in the state coffers. “The government has deposited Dashain allowance in lawmakers’ bank accounts. Since returning the allowance to the government was not possible, we have permitted the government to deposit our next month’s salary in the state coffers,” he said. He added that NCP lawmakers were not aware that the government would provide Dashain allowance to them. The NCP has 53 members in the National Assembly and 173 members in the House of Representatives.

The Nepali Congress and the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal have condemned the government’s decision to provide Dashain allowance to lawmakers. They have decided to return their lawmakers’ Dashain allowance to the government. NC Parliamentary Party issued a press release saying the government’s decision to provide Dashain allowance to people’s representatives at a time when the country was facing a grim economic situation and hardship due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was ill conceived.

https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/ncp-mps-to-forgo-one-months-salary/