Virbhadra Singh delivers longest budget speech of over 4 hours

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today created a record of sorts by delivering the possibly longest budget speech over a span of four-and-a-half hours.
The chief minister did not take any break during the speech which was packed with announcements of projects and schemes, and punctuated with Urdu couplets.
It was the 20th budget for the 82-year-old six-time chief minister.
The 80-page budget speech was the last in his present tenure. Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh are scheduled for later this year.
Later talking to mediapersons, he said the length of the speech was not important. It was the sentiment towards the people of the state which was reflected in the budget.

"I wanted to do a lot more but financial constraints are coming in the way," he said.
Singh presented a Rs 35,780 crore budget in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly.
No fresh tax proposal was introduced and the budget has sops for every section of society.