Kathmandu, January 26, 2018
CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli said the new government would review all the decisions taken by the caretaker government and revoke the ones that could be against the constitution, law and national interest.
Speaking at a press conference at UML’s headquarters here today, Oli criticised the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government for lowering the age for senior citizens’ allowance from 70 to 65 years. Oli said the decision could empty the national coffers, leading to bankruptcy. He said the Deuba-led government decided to provide additional Rs 1 lakh to earthquake victims to gain cheap popularity.
He said the social security related decision of the government was taken with mala fide intention. “We need to make a national policy for social security allowances,” he said. Oli claimed that the erstwhile UML-led government was the first to announce senior citizen allowance in 1994 and the NC had criticised the decision.
He claimed the decision could add a burden of Rs 35 billion per year on the national exchequer. Previously, people aged 70 years and above were receiving Rs 2,000 a month as social security allowance. According to the Bureau of Statistic, the country has 636,431 people in the age group of 65-69 years. To provide them the allowance the government has to allocate nearly Rs 1.5 billion per month.
He also accused the government of arbitrarily distributing government funds to its cronies, putting a strain on the economy.
