Govt. seeking political mileage by holding Budget session before financial year end: NCP

With several opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the DMK and the JD (U), against the early presentation of Budget 2017-18, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Majeed Memon on Monday said the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is only seeking political mileage from this exercise.

Memon told ANI that preponing the budget session was aimed at luring voters of the poll bond state of Uttar Pradesh.

"This budget has several peculiarities. First, is that this is the budget that will present the rail and general budget together instead of separately as has been the practice in the past. So, this is definitely going to be a complex budget. Number two is that this budget is being presented before the financial year ending. Third, this budget is being presented in the midst of campaigning and elections, as the largest state is going for polls. And four, is that this is a budget which is coming within the hundred days of demonetisation which has shaken the entire economy," he said.

 

"So, all these questions make it very important and significant and I am sure that there will be a lot of noise in the parliament in analyzing this budget," he added.

Meanwhile, the government has convened an all-party meeting today ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament to seek opposition's support for the smooth conduct of proceedings in both houses.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has also called a meeting of leaders of political parties in the House same evening.

The Budget Session will start from Tuesday with President Pranab Mukherjee's address to a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Demonetisation and the GST Bill will be top priority legislations likely to be discussed during the budget session

The Economic Survey will also be presented on the first day of the session, while the general budget will be presented on Wednesday.

The two Houses will have a month-long recess from February 10 to March 8 to enable the Standing Committees to consider the Demands for Grants of Ministries and Departments and prepare their reports.