Win-win situation for treasury, opposition benches at J’khand assembly budget session

Ranchi: The last budget session of the current government, which will complete its tenure later this year, concluded on Friday with Speaker Dinesh Oraon adjourning the House sine die. Oraon managed to chair the session with an iron hand this time and it was almost after a gap of two-and-half years that the proceedings were conducted smoothly without a single day wasted in adjournments. However, there were some adjournments during the Question Hour on a few occasions but business was usual during the second half of the sessions.
On last day of the 15-day budget session that began on January 17, the Speaker once again expressed disappointment at the conduct of the legislators in the House. Oraon commented that the most difficult to deal with is the political class. “Though I also come from the same class, I have no hesitation in accepting that no one wants the political leaders to speak and whenever they are given a chance, they don’t want to leave the microphone as if they would never get another chance,” he said. He further said if the political class improves, not only the state would improve but so would the entire country. He had expressed disappointed when Nirbhay Shahabadi of BJP was reading out his private member bill regarding Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Limited not supplying power to people in the DVC command area. Shahabadi went beyond the time allowed to him for reading out the bill.

During the session, the Speaker had also marshalled out BJP legislator Dhullu Mahato for ignoring the chair and had also stopped chief minister Raghubar Das from pitching in during a debate after a ruling was passed by the chair.

In his concluding remarks, Oraon said the 15-day session had 14 working days during which 1,065 questions were received out of which 947 were accepted by the assembly. The assembly secretariat received answers of 72% questions online from various departments. “There were 65 calling attention motions, out of which most of the important motions were discussed in the House,” he said.

Meanwhile, the session proved effective for both ruling and opposition parties. Chief minister Raghubar Das managed to get approval of the House for his last budget proposal for the 2019-20 financial year worth Rs 85429 crore by a voice vote. The government also got approval for the third supplementary budget besides getting some of the important bills passed. Decks were cleared for constitution of the state commission for Scheduled Tribe, besides tabling of report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the economic survey report from the previous financial year.

The opposition made its mark by strongly raising the issue of para teachers and demanding cancellation of the 6th combined civil services examination conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission. Even on last day of the session opposition leaders convinced the government to continue Mukhyamantri Asadhya rog yojna till the Ayushman Bharat scheme was streamlined. The chief minister conceded to return land to owners from whom it was acquired for the Adityapur Industrial Development Authority (AIDA) in Saraikela Kharsawan district while answering to the issue raised by JMM MLA Champai Soren.