Chaitra 25, Hetauda – The Bagmati Province government has formally demanded the constitutional rights granted to it from Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen). Addressing the first session of the 17th Provincial Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya called for the recognition and delivery of constitutional rights to the provincial government.
Recalling Prime Minister Shah’s remarks during the election campaign from Janakpur, where he said, “There is no need to rush to demand rights in Kathmandu; I am only going to visit the Pashupatinath Temple,” Chief Minister Baniya urged the centre to grant all rights constitutionally assigned to the province.
“Even when democratic parties such as Congress, UML, and Maoists formed the government and faced struggles for these rights, the province did not receive them. Now, we trust the present people’s government, committed to federalism, to fulfill this promise we heard before the election and bring these rights to the province,” Baniya stated. He also expressed dissatisfaction regarding the performance and frequent, irregular transfers of chief secretaries and secretaries appointed by the federal government.
Chief Minister Baniya lamented that frequent employee transfers before their tenure ends have created difficulties in accomplishing necessary work efficiently. He requested that the federal government consult the Chief Minister before transferring chief secretaries and secretaries and suggested that a chief secretary posted to the province should serve for at least two years without transfer.
“We had heard that the prime minister, during his mayoral tenure, could not perform his duties effectively due to issues with the chief administrative officer. We see this as a shared challenge and trust that he understands and will address it,” he added.
Chief Minister Baniya emphasized that Bagmati Province is working towards becoming a corruption-free, good-governance, transparent, accountable, and responsible government, dedicated to serving its citizens. He also expressed the province government’s desire to collaborate with the federal government to progress in line with public expectations.
