New Delhi: Delhi Assembly Budget session was extended till the first week of March with Finance minister Atishi citing a delay in Budget finalisation due to certain reasons and sending it for approval to the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday.
The proposal was passed by the Assembly, with the opposition BJP MLAs questioning the reasons behind the delay.
This is likely to be the longest Assembly session under the AAP government’s regime, according to officials.
“There have been some delays in Budget finalisation due to some reasons. We received an approval for the budget from Delhi Lt Governor yesterday. It has been sent for approval of the MHA today. The approval from the MHA and the presidential assent will take at least 10 to 15 days. It is not possible for us to present the budget before February 25. I request that the Budget session be extended till the first week of March,” she said in the House.
The BJP MLAs questioned the delay, in response to which Atishi said, “It is a delay on our part. We are not levelling allegations against anyone.”
She requested Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel to extend the Budget session until the first week of March because there will also be some discussion in the House for a few days after the budget presentation.
“I hope the Delhi Budget will be presented either in the last week of February or in the first week of March,” she said.
The Budget session of the Assembly commenced on February 15 and was supposed to end on February 21.
Later, while talking to reporters, she said that the Budget was presented before the Council of Ministers three days ago and was sent for the L-G’s nod two days ago.
Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri accused the AAP government of making an important document like the Budget a “victim of mockery and politics”.
In a press conference, he alleged that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has tried to use the budget “as his weapon to escape the investigation of the liquor scam”.
Kejriwal has been summoned for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on February 19.
“This is a clear administrative failure of the government. Therefore, the BJP MLAs will meet the lieutenant governor and demand that the AAP government be dismissed immediately. After all, how was the date of the budget session approved without the budget being made,” he asked.
Bidhuri said this is “probably the first time that the Budget session has been called despite the Budget not ready to be tabled”.
He demanded to know the exact reason behind the delay in the Budget’s preparation.
There was no immediate reaction from the Delhi government or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the allegations.