Kathmandu, June 2 -- With the government unveiling its budget for the upcoming fiscal year in Parliament on May 29, the ruling parties have naturally lauded the budget while opposition parties have criticised it for "lacking direction and ambition". The Post's Purushottam Poudel sat down with CPN (Maoist Centre) Deputy General Secretary and former finance minister Barshaman Pun to discuss the contents of the budget, ongoing parliamentary obstruction, allegations against the home minister, the Maoist party's internal dynamics, and the prospects of communist unity in Nepal.

The ruling parties praise the budget while the opposition parties invariably criticise it. As the government presented the budget on May 29, the pattern of reactions wa...