Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow at the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said, “The trade deal with the United States is undermining the country’s sovereignty over energy security. The current government says it will not pursue country-specific foreign policies. Yet this is exactly what is happening in the trade deal – now we need permission about who we can buy oil from.”
He made the comments on Saturday at the pre-Budget “Shadow Parliament” debate competition organized by Debate for Democracy on ensuring energy security in the national budget.
The debate competition was presided over by Hasan Ahmed Chaudhary, President of Debate for Democracy.
Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor of Nagrik Manch, raised several questions while addressing the reform issues, “Why is the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not releasing loan instalments? Why could we not implement the reform proposals made at the end of the tenure of the interim government? A white paper on the economy has been prepared with reform documents for various sectors. Now it seems these proposals are destined for museums.”
He questioned the stance of the present government on the reform ordinances issued during the interim period and said that the initial signals from the government have not been encouraging. Although there was mention of setting up a reform commission in the election manifesto, it has not been established even after two months. He urged that such a commission should be formed immediately.