New Delhi: The leader of the opposition in Delhi Assembly, Atishi, alleged that BJP was trying to evade discussion on the budget and only one hour was allocated for deliberations on the state’s financial blueprint in the house on Wednesday.
In a letter to speaker Vijender Gupta, Atishi demanded that two days be solely devoted to discuss the budget and the other businesses be either taken up on Friday or, if required, the session be extended by a day.
Responding to the letter in the house, Gupta said Atishi’s claim of just one hour being allocated for the discussion on the budget was “completely baseless and politically motivated”.
Claiming that the discussion on the budget was “deliberately” curtailed, Atishi wrote that the list of business for March 26 contained so many items that barely one hour of discussion would have been possible on the budget.
“Given that the session timing is from 11am to 5pm, with one hour spent on Rule 280, one hour on ‘Questions’, and one hour on the lunch break, that leaves only 3 hours for discussion on the budget, on the CAG report, a short duration discussion under Rule 55 on water shortage and waterlogging, a motion under Rule 107, adoption of two reports of assembly committees, as well as financial papers to be laid down by chief minister,” Atishi mentioned in the letter.
“How can a budget be discussed in this manner? Will an assembly of 70 MLAs spend barely one hour discussing the annual budget? Will it be sandwiched between five other agenda items? It almost seems that govt wants to avoid a detailed discussion on the budget,” she alleged.
The leader of the opposition also questioned if the budget for the financial year 2025-26 was based on “fictitious revenue projections and economic trends” and that’s why govt did not want to present the economic survey or have a proper discussion on it.
The speaker, however, called Atishi’s charge on the budget discussion “completely untrue”. “I would like to clarify that in the meeting of the business advisory committee, in which opposition members were also present, it was decided that discussions on the budget will take place on March 26 and 27. Additionally, all members will be given equal speaking time in proportion to their party’s representation, ensuring that every member gets a fair opportunity to speak,” Gupta said in his reply.
“The rules followed in previous sessions will be adhered to this time as well. If the need arises, the session duration will also be extended. It should be appreciated that discussions are taking place on every subject during the session,” he added.
