Oppn creates ruckus in U'khand Assembly, demands hard copies of state budget

Opposition MLAs created a ruckus in the Uttarakhand Assembly here on Saturday over the government not providing hard copies of the state budget to them.

They said due to hard copies not being made available, members of opposition parties were unable to take part in the discussion on the budget in the House.

Responding to the ruckus, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Kaushik said hard copies have not been provided in line with the state government's emphasis on the use of technology.

The budget has been made available online and in pen drives. It is there for everyone to see, including people in general as well as the members of the House, he said.

The complaints by opposition members are unfounded, he added.

However, Congress MLAs Manoj Rawat and Pritam Singh claimed members were unable to view the budget online due to poor internet connectivity and participate in a general discussion on it on the floor of the House.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Wednesday tabled Uttarakhand's annual budget of Rs 53,526.97 crore in the state assembly.

Prosperity of farmers, jobs for the youths, empowerment of women, reverse migration to border villages, access to quality education and creation of better health facilities in remote areas are some major goals the budget aims to achieve, Rawat said in his speech.