Lawmakers belonging to various political parties have accused the government of attacking on an ancient culture and tradition by not allocating budget for traditional jatras (religious festivals) observed in Kathmandu Valley.
The lawmakers also sought a clear response from the government regarding its decision to cut down state expenditure for the Indra Jatra festivals in the name of ending the ritual animal sacrifices.
The decision sparked massive protests in the capital from Friday and continued today too. People of the Newar community, who have been practicing the rituals for centuries, took to the streets saying the Finance Minister, who unveiled the budget estimate for the fiscal year 2008/09, cut off funding for jatras.
Some lawmakers have described the fund cuts as an attack on an ancient cultural traditions and demanded that the government withdraw its decision and provide the budget for the rituals.
Taking time from the CA chair Subash Nemwang to speak during the special session of the Constitution Assembly held in the capacity of legislative parliament, Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh blamed that the government's decision was a deliberate attack on the ancient culture and tradition and also demanded that the amount of money given by the government for similar religious worship should be increased.
He came down heavily against government orders to Guthi Sansthan and Kaasuhi Toshakhana, the main organisers of Indra Jatra festival, to stop spending from state coffers on animal sacrifices during the Indra Jatra Festival.
Singh, a powerful Newar leader who won the CA seat from Kathmandu's Newar majority constituency, also demanded that the concerned minister (Minister of Culture) should be held accountable on the matter. Following the orders, the Newar community, which was engaged in pulling the chariot of Kumari, boycotted the last day of Indrajatra festival on Saturday, as the sacrifice of buffalos and goats on the occasion is an essential part of the tradition.
UML's Mangal Siddhi Manandhar went further in his criticism of the government, particularly the Ministry of Culture, accusing it of maintaining an uneasy silence on the whole matter although it has gained such proportions. He, however, said that if the concerned minister shows even a little bit of sensitivity and takes appropriate initiatives then it is possible to find a solution to the problem.
Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) leader Sunil Prajapati warned the government against doing anything that will hurt the sentiment of the people of Kathmandu and stressed on the need to allocate more budget for preservation and promotion of language, arts and cultural tradition.
Another lawmaker Buddha Ratna Manandhar said the Newar community won't tolerate any attack on their age-old tradition and demanded fulfillment of legitimate demands of the demonstrators including treatment for those injured Likewise NC's Tirtha Man Dangol, Nabindra Raj Joshi including others said that the government's latest act would just encourage communal politics and warned that it would only prove to be costly for the country in future.
Meanwhile, the government pledged that it would continue to provide assistance to run religious and cultural affairs of various ethnic communities and religious groups of the country and requested the demonstrators to withdraw their protest programs.
Responding to angry questions raised by lawmakers during the heated debate that went on the issue during the parliamentary session today, Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai clarified that it was not the intention of the government to launch an attack against the ancient cultural tradition of any particular community.
Saying that funding for religious festivals has not been cut off, FM Bhattarai also requested the opposition parties not to try to garner unnecessary political gains by inciting religious and communal sentiments.
"Let us not make the cultural and religious matters issues of contention," he said, adding that since Nepal is a secular country the government is committed to protecting the religiosity of all the communities.
Bhattarai said that since the government has already allocated budget for this fiscal year, and said that it will sit for talks with the concerned religious organizations try to find what kind of assistance is needed in the coming days.