Opposition BJP and INLD members today staged a walkout from the Haryana Assembly during the tabling of budget for 2014-15, alleging that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had earlier made several announcements "outside" the House.
The Opposition parties said the presentation of the budget in the Assembly was a "mere formality" as the Chief Minister had allegedly made several announcements outside.
Soon after the House assembled today, BJP Legislature Party leader Anil Vij was on his feet. He alleged that Hooda had been making several announcements, including welfare schemes, outside of the Assembly.
He was supported by INLD state unit chief Ashok Arora who wanted to know why Hooda had been making the announcements, including the one for autorickshaw owners, outside.
Speaker Kuldeep Sharma asked the two MLAs to allow the Question Hour to take place first.
As Finance Minister H S Chattha started reading out the budget estimates for 2014-15, both Arora and Vij got up and protested.
Intervening in the matter, the Chief Minister said as the INLD members had earlier been suspended and did not attend the session for two days and BJP MLAs had been staging walkouts, they were not aware of the fact that what he had told outside the Assembly were the same announcements he had made while speaking during the Governor's address.
Not satisfied with Hooda's reply, all four BJP members and INLD MLAs staged a brief walkout from the proceedings.
Chattha later tabled the budget before the assembly, his third as the state Finance Minister.
Talking to reporters on the walkout, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said the announcements the opposition members were referring to had been made by the Chief Minister inside the Assembly as well.
"They are only interested in making newspaper headlines by staging walkouts," Surjewala added.
Both Arora and Vij slammed the budget, saying it was "visionless and directionless".
