Page 16 - Budget Session

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to visit Ayodhya after end of Budget session

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will visit Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh after the ongoing budget session of the state legislature ends later this month, his close aide said on Wednesday. Shinde will travel to Ayodhya to offer prayers to Lord Ram after the budget session ends on March 25, he said. A grand temple dedicated to Lord Ram is coming up in the Uttar Pradesh town. Incidentally, Shinde was in Ayodhya with then-Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray in mid-June 2022, just days before raising a banner of revolt against the Shiv Sena leadership which eventually triggered the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. After becoming CM in June-end, Shinde and MLAs supporting him had visited the famous Kamakya Devi temple in Guwahati. Shinde and MLAs supporting him had camped at a Guwahati luxury hotel for eight days after the revolt in the undivided Shiv Sena.

Not in favour of setting up Fiscal Council, Centre tells Rajya Sabha

The central government on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha said that it is not in favour of setting up a Fiscal Council as was suggested by the different Finance Commissions. The 15th Finance Commission had suggested to the centre to set up an independent Fiscal Council with powers to access records as required from the Union as well as the States. Similar suggestions were made by the 13th and the 14th Finance Commissions. Disagreeing with the suggestion, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply in the Upper House said the "institutions such as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the National Statistical Commission, the Finance Commission, etc. perform some or all of the roles proposed for the Fiscal Council by different Finance Commissions on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM)." The finance commissions wanted the centre to set up the Fiscal Council to assess and monitor fiscal policy, effective implementation of fiscal rules and ..

Logjam continues in Parliament over Rahul Gandhi remarks, Adani issue

Terming it as a non-issue, Giriraj Singh said, "Adani-Ambani is just an excuse, they just want to abuse Modi".

Angry govt lashes out at Rahul Gandhi's London panning of Indian democracy

Opposition's plans to raise Hindenburg issue, demand for JPC get no hearing as both houses are adjourned early

PM holds meeting with top ministers to discuss strategy for Budget session

Earlier on Monday, a meeting of Congress MPs under the chairmanship of party president Mallikarjun Kharge took place at the party's Parliamentary Party office in Parliament to chalk out the strategy

Delhi: Meeting of Congress MPs begins ahead of 2nd phase of Budget Session

Opposition parties will also attend a joint meeting at Congress national president Kharge's office on Monday, said sources

Second leg of Budget session begins today, Govt aims to pass pending bills

The second leg of the Budget session of Parliament will begin today and it will continue till April 6

Oppn MPs move adjournment & suspension of business notices in Parliament

The opposition MPs have moved an adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha and also given a notice for suspension of business in the Rajya Sabha

CM Dhami to chair key Cabinet meeting today ahead of Budget session

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will chair a key cabinet meeting on Monday (today) ahead of the presentation of the budget session, an official statement said

Oppn to meet at Kharge's office ahead of 2nd phase of Budget session Monday

Opposition leaders will hold a meeting on Monday morning to firm up their floor strategy for the second leg of the Budget session as they gear up to corner the government on issues such as alleged misuse of probe agencies and the Adani row. The opposition leaders are expected to meet at Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge's office in the Parliament complex at around 10 am, sources said. The Congress MPs will gather at the Congress Parliamentary Party office before the meeting to deliberate on the party's strategy, they said. The Congress is also set for a duel with the BJP over Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the UK over which the saffron party's leaders have been continuously attacking the former AICC chief. Opposition parties are gearing up to corner the government on issues such as alleged misuse of probe agencies to target their leaders, allegations against the Adani Group, border standoff with China, price rise and unemployment. The Congress continues to demand a

VP flags 'free fall of info' in name of freedom of speech in all-party meet

Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday sought views of leaders of various political parties on ways to curb disruptions in the House at a meeting held on the eve of the start of the second phase of the Budget session. Opposition members raised the issue of alleged misuse of central agencies against non-BJP governments and the move to appoint Dhankhar's personal staff on parliamentary committees. Sources said that during his interaction with floor leaders, Vice-President Dhankhar mainly flagged the issue of whether disruptions can be allowed and if members can have a "free fall of information" in the name of free speech in the House as envisaged in Article 105 of the Constitution. The article deals with freedom of speech in Parliament with certain conditions. The first phase of the Budget session was overshadowed by the Adani-Hindenburg isssue as the Opposition disrupted proceedings demanding a JPC probe. Dhankhar had been criticised by opposition parties over his decis

Oppn parties to attend meeting on Monday to discuss strategy for debates

Opposition parties will attend a joint meeting scheduled to be held at Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge's office, ahead of the second phase of the Budget Session which will resume

We will fulfill needs of women and middle class in our first Budget: Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the state Budget, which is to be presented on Thursday, will fulfil the needs and aspirations of women and the middle class across the state."I can tell you that we will look to fulfil the needs and aspirations of women & the middle class." Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said."Tomorrow (Thursday) is our first Budget. We'll be fulfilling our promises tomorrow. Everyone is anticipating what the Budget will hold for them," he added.On the Budget, which will be the first to be presented by the Shiv Sena-BJP government since the change of guard in the state last year, Shinde said the government will keep its promises to the people.Speaking at an event at Mumbai's iconic Gateway of India on Wednesday, the CM also extended best wishes to women on International Women's Day. He said, "Today, we honoured women who work for the country in the cities and villages. Today is a day for our women, sisters and mothers."Shinde said the ...

Aggressive strategy to be adopted to corner Cong in Budget: Jai Ram Thakur

An aggressive strategy would be formulated to pin down the ruling Congress party during the upcoming Himachal Pradesh assembly budget session, leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur said on Thursday. Several important issues were discussed during a meeting of the BJP legislature party held here on Thursday, he said, adding the party would be in an aggressive mode in the budget session commencing March 14. The ongoing signature campaign of the BJP against the closing of health, education, revenue and other institutions opened during the previous BJP government was reviewed and discussions were also held in regard to organisational elections, Thakur said. Congress leaders are talking about the price rise but surprisingly it is the same Congress government that increased the VAT on diesel by Rs 3, he said.

Data Protection Bill gets IT panel thumbs-up, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

According to sources, the Bill will shortly get presented to the Cabinet and is ready to get tabled in Parliament during the ongoing Budget session

Punjab governor has summoned the house to call the budget session, SC told

The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that the Punjab Governor by an order has summoned the house for the budget session on March 3.

Budget session of Chhattisgarh Assembly to start from Wednesday

The budget session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly will begin from Wednesday and the budget for 2023-24 will be tabled on March 6, Speaker Charan Das Mahant said here on Tuesday. It would be the last budget session of the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government before the state goes to polls at the end of 2023. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it would corner the government on several issues including the deteriorating law and order situation. The session will commence with Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan's address on Wednesday followed by the tabling of the motion of thanks on the Governor's address, Mahant said at a press conference. The debate on the motion of thanks on the Governor's address is proposed to be held on March 3, he said. Chief Minister Baghel, who also holds the finance portfolio, would present the budget on March 6, Mahant said. The session will have 14 sittings and conclude on March 24. As of Tuesday, 1,590 questions were received from the ...

SC to hear Punjab govt plea against guv's refusal to summon Budget session

The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Tuesday a plea of the Punjab government against the Governor's "refusal" to summon the Budget session scheduled for March 3. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said it will take up the Punjab government's plea at 3:50 pm after a five-judge Constitution bench hearing on the Maharashtra Shiv Sena political crisis. Senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for the Punjab government, requested for urgent hearing of the plea on Tuesday itself. He added that Constitution bench hearing will not get affected if the matter is taken up for hearing for 10 minutes during the day. The bench told Singhvi, that he will be arguing before the constitution bench and therefore it will take up the plea for hearing at 3.50 pm. The tussle between the Punjab Governor and Chief Minister Mann had worsened last week with Purohit indicating he is in no hurry to summon the assembly's budget session, and reminding the CM about his "derogatory" resp

Parl panel seeks explanation from MPs for disruptions during Budget Session

A parliamentary panel on privilege notices has decided to seek an explanation from 13 opposition Rajya Sabha MPs, including a suspended member, for disrupting proceedings of the Upper House during the first leg of the budget session, sources said on Monday. A privilege notice against 12 of these MPs was referred to the committee by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. The Rajya Sabha's committee of privileges chaired by Deputy Chairman Harivansh unanimously decided on Monday to seek an explanation from 13 MPs, including nine from the Congress and three from the AAP, on the notices moved against them. Of these parliamentarians, Congress' Rajni Patil was suspended on February 10 for the remainder of the Budget Session for videographing the proceedings of the Upper House. The others from the party are Shaktisinh Gohil, Naranbhai J Rathwa, Syed Nasir Hussain, Kumar Ketkar, Imran Prattapgarhi, L Hanumanthaiah, Phulo Devi Netam, Jebi Mather Hisham and Ranjeet Ranjan. The AAP members ar

Shiv Sena feud to find echo in Budget session of Maharashtra legislature

The ongoing high decibel political and legal battle between rival Shiv Sena groups is all set to resonate loudly in the Maharashtra legislature when it begins its Budget session on February 27. The Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, buoyed by an Election Commission (EC) ruling in its favour, and the Uddhav Thackeray faction are locked in a bitter feud to lay claim over the 56-year-old party and legacy of its founder Bal Thackeray. Going by the legislative majority, the EC last week allotted the Shiv Sena name and the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol to the Shinde group while recognising the split in the party, which was rocked by a rebellion in June last year. Moving swiftly after the EC ruling, the Shinde camp petitioned Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar and took control of the Shiv Sena legislature party office in the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai. Similarly, the Shinde camp feels the whip it issues will be binding on legislators still loyal to Thackeray. Amid the Sh