New Delhi:
Parliament’s budget session will begin today under the shadow of multiple controversies including Kanwar Yatra, NEET and Manipur. Three states, two of them ruled by allies, are demanding special status. The Union budget will be presented on Tuesday.
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The Union budget will be presented at 11 am on Tuesday by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who has been handed the portfolio for another term in the interest of continuity. The Interim Union Budget for 2024-25 was presented ahead of the Lok Sabha election on February 1.
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The budget will be preceded by the Economic Survey, which will be presented today. A report card on the economy and growth, the survey will be presented to the Lok Sabha. The survey contains details about the performance of various economic sectors and data on employment, GDP growth, inflation, and budget deficit.
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The discussion that would follow the presentation budget is expected to be stormy, with the resurgent Opposition ready with a list of controversial subjects. The Opposition has not been able to discuss several issues in the first session after the new MPs took oath.
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The BJP is also bracing for a clutch of demands from allies, including a rollback of the controversial order in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand that owners of eateries have to put up boards displaying their names.
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The Opposition Congress has criticised the order, calling it “communal and divisive” and intended to target Muslims and Scheduled Castes by forcing them to reveal their identity. Demanding a discussion in parliament, the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party and AAP made it clear that they would raise the issue in both Houses.
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The BJP’s allies from Bihar are, meanwhile, demanding Special Category status. Demand is also being raised for Andhra Pradesh by the YSR Congress and for Odisha by Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal.
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The matters were discussed at the all-party meet on Sunday, but the special category status demand for Andhra Pradesh was not raised by BJP ally and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, reported Congress’s Jairam Ramesh.
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After the meeting, BJP ally Jayant Chaudhary – Union minister and chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal, spoke of the controversial eateries order. “It seems that the order was taken without much thought and the government is adamant on it because the decision has been taken,” he said.
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At the all-party meet, Union minister Rajnath Singh asked the Opposition to avoid disruptions during the speeches of senior leaders. During parliament’s inaugural session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, was repeatedly interrupted by slogan-shouting by the Opposition members.
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The budget session will conclude on August 12, by which time, the government aims to pass six bills including one which seeks to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act to enhance ease of doing business in the aviation sector.
