He has claimed that even though it has been eight years since federalism was implemented, the provinces have not been able to obtain the status of a real government.
Bagmati Province Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya has said that the provincial government has not yet been formed. He claimed that even after eight years of federalism, the province has not been able to achieve the status of a real government.
‘The Constitution has made provision for a central government, a provincial government and a local government. There is a local government. There is a central government. But there is a provincial structure, but no provincial government,’ he said at the session on Federalism: Only Structure or Also a Convener? of the Kantipur Conclave.
He added, ‘To be a government, police are needed, civil servants are needed, geographical rights are needed, land rights are needed, forest rights are needed. The provincial government does not have any of these rights. That is why it is not a provincial government, it is only a provincial structure.’
Baniya said that the leaderships that brought about a federal republic were slow to implement federalism. ‘By not implementing the issues of the province’s sole right, coexistence and cooperation literally, those who do not want federalism found a place to muddle through,’ he said, ‘We have been affected by that.’
Baniya, who is also the president of Nepali Congress Bagmati Province, said that the reason behind the removal of his own party’s Chief Minister Bahadur Lama was related to the weaknesses seen in the government’s operation. ‘In democracy, there is a tug-of-war between the leaderships. The provincial system was not well-organized. "The budget distribution has become mainstream. As the party president, I have decided that the government should be changed because it is not people-oriented, village-oriented, or development-oriented," he said.
