CHANDIGARH: The budget session of Punjab assembly is likely to be witness to the opposition cornering treasury benches over the state’s fiscal health.
During the session, a proposal for setting up a commission for Punjabi language is also expected to be mooted. Punjab culture affairs department has been holding a series of events to commemorate Punjabi Week, which culminates with a Punjabi Film Festival on February 21, which is International Mother Language Day.
Sources said Congress would want a discussion on Punjabi language, so it would also raise the issue of mother tongue not being given due importance in private schools in the state and a need for setting up a Punjabi commission.
The session will be held from February 20 to 25. Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal will present his fourth budget for 2020-21 on February 25. Sources said the budget will include sops, such as increase in allocations under social security schemes and more funds for sectors like agriculture.
Rival parties plan to corner the Congress government over the assurance it gave in its first budget in 2017: that the state will be out of the red in three years. However, financial position of the state is still not as expected.
Recently, Congress leadership had set up a manifesto implementation committee led by party leader P Chidambaram to ensure promises made to voters in the run-up to the last elections were fulfilled. There has been a grouse of party MLAs that they were not getting sufficient grants for development in their constituencies and chief minister Amarinder Singh had started the exercise to seek feedback from the MLA concerned before making allocations.
During the session, a proposal for setting up a commission for Punjabi language is also expected to be mooted. Punjab culture affairs department has been holding a series of events to commemorate Punjabi Week, which culminates with a Punjabi Film Festival on February 21, which is International Mother Language Day.
Sources said Congress would want a discussion on Punjabi language, so it would also raise the issue of mother tongue not being given due importance in private schools in the state and a need for setting up a Punjabi commission.
The session will be held from February 20 to 25. Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal will present his fourth budget for 2020-21 on February 25. Sources said the budget will include sops, such as increase in allocations under social security schemes and more funds for sectors like agriculture.
Rival parties plan to corner the Congress government over the assurance it gave in its first budget in 2017: that the state will be out of the red in three years. However, financial position of the state is still not as expected.
Recently, Congress leadership had set up a manifesto implementation committee led by party leader P Chidambaram to ensure promises made to voters in the run-up to the last elections were fulfilled. There has been a grouse of party MLAs that they were not getting sufficient grants for development in their constituencies and chief minister Amarinder Singh had started the exercise to seek feedback from the MLA concerned before making allocations.
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