JANAKPUR: A major controversy has surfaced in the Madhesh Province Assembly after it was revealed that two different versions of the provincial government’s budget “Red Book” for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26 are in circulation.
Lawmakers have claimed that while the Red Book distributed to them contains only 461 pages, another version has 294 additional pages, allegedly containing over 8,000 hidden projects.
During Monday’s discussion on the Appropriation Bill, several ruling party lawmakers expressed outrage.
Upendra Mahato, a lawmaker from the ruling Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP), accused the government of deliberately concealing part of the budget.
“If I don’t receive the full 755-page Red Book, I will not leave the rostrum,” he declared, forcing Speaker Saroj Kumar Yadav to assure that the full document would be made available.
Even ruling CPN-UML lawmakers joined the criticism. MLA Lakhan Das said that except for the ministers, nearly all lawmakers were dissatisfied with the budget.
He accused the Minister for Education and Culture, Rani Sharma Tiwari, of allocating Rs 410 million heavily in her own constituency, Mahottari-3 (2), with 117 projects, many favoring NGOs.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Birendra Singh said the budget was riddled with mismanagement and accused ministers of bringing a “governance of misgovernance,” despite their public rhetoric about good governance.
In the first Assembly meeting of the day, JASPA-Nepal leader and former Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav displayed both versions of the Red Book in the House, claiming that the government hid around 8,000 projects spanning 294 pages.
He further alleged financial irregularities in nutrition-related budget allocations, pointing out inconsistencies involving Rs 3 billion and an additional Rs 976 million.
The controversy over the hidden budget pages has raised serious questions about transparency, prompting calls for accountability and potential parliamentary obstruction if the issue remains unresolved.
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