President authenticates appropriation bill ending government shutdown

President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Thursday authenticated the appropriation bill, officially ending the government shutdown, which was on its eighth day, and enabling the government to spend the country’s annual budget.

“The President has already authenticated the Appropriation Bill-2021,” said Joint Secretary Jaganath Pant, spokesperson of the President’s Office. “It has been uploaded on the official website.”

Shreedhar Neupane, press advisor to Speaker Agni Sapkota, told the Post that the appropriation bill was sent to the President’s Office for authentication as soon as it was received from the National Assembly. “The Speaker has sent the appropriation bill to the President’s Office for authentication,” Neupane said.

Earlier, the meeting of the National Assembly had endorsed the appropriation bill by majority votes despite obstruction from the main opposition CPN-UML.

Finance Minister Janardan Sharma had asked the National Assembly to consider the bill on Tuesday. No member sought amendment to the bill within the mandatory 72 hours or participated in discussions on Thursday.