Himachal Pradesh assembly budget session begins Monday

The budget session of the Himachal Pradesh assembly would begin Monday and last till February 18, Speaker Rajeev Bindal said Sunday. The second budget session of the state's 13th assembly would commence with the governor's address on February 4, he said, adding that it would be followed by obituary references the same day.

He said the discussion on the governor's address would be held from February 5 to 7. Speaker Bindal said the Jai Ram Thakur government would present its budget for 2019-20 on February 9.

The budget would be presented by Chief Minister Thakur, who also holds the state's Finance Ministry portfolio, he said, adding the discussion on the budget proposals would be held between February 11 and 13. Voting on Demands for Grants would be held on the last day of the session on February 18 at 4 pm, he said.

The session would have a a total of 13 sittings and it has been decided to hold the sittings even on Saturdays, February 9 and 16, he said, adding February 8 and 14 have been earmarked as private members days. "Usually the budget session is convened from February-end to March-end or the first week of April. But this budget session has been convened earlier and cut short to 13 sittings due to the upcoming parliamentary elections," he said.

Being the last session of the state assembly before the upcoming parliamentary elections, the budget session is likely to be a stormy affair. The opposition Congress would raise issues like non-performance, failure to keep promises made in the 2018-19 budget, deterioration in law and order situation in the state and 'lack of good governance' during the session, said a senior Congress leader.

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