CM Yogi Adityanath and Assembly Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit at all-party meeting in Lucknow. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)
THE Uttar Pradesh annual budget for the 2020-21 fiscal will be placed in the State Legislative Assembly on February 18, during the budget session beginning Thursday. While the session will begin with Governor’s address to the joint sitting of both the houses on Thursday, during the all party meeting Wednesday, Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit sought the co-operation of opposition in “serious discussions on address of the Governor as well as the general Budget.”
However, sources said the opposition parties are set to target the government over several issues, including law and order, unemployment and farmers’ issues.
The session will begin on February 13 with Governor’s address and would end on March 7. While there would be discussion on Governor’s address on February 14, 17, 18 and 19, annual budget would be placed on February 18. The discussion on General Budget would begin on February 20 and would continue till March 7. From February 28 to March 7, there would be discussion on specific demands for grants made by different departments.
During the all-party meeting, attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, leaders of opposition parties demanded that settings continue to take place for the number of days it has been decided, so that most members get the opportunity to participate in the discussion on Budget.
BSP Leader Lalji Verma raised the issue of fewer sittings of the House and said during the meeting that this should not be reduced. While Leader of Opposition, Ram Govind Chaudhary, was not present during the meeting, SP MLA Ujjwal Raman Singh, who represented the party during the meeting requested that the Bills should be placed during first half of the day. From Congress, while Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhna Mishra was not present, Congress MLA Naresh Saini represented the party during the meeting.
Adityanath, assured the opposition that the government was ready for constructive discussion on all issues.