Assam Budget presentation deferred

The tabling of Assam's interimBudget was postponed on Thursday hours before its schedule, anassembly official said.

The tabling of the interim Budget was postponed toFriday, stating that it clashed with the Governor's addressbut sources claimed that it was deferred as state FinanceMinister Himanta Biswa Sarma was accompanying Union HomeMinister Amit Shah, who reached the state in the early hourson a sudden ''personal visit''.

It is the last Budget of the present BJP-ledgovernment before the state goes to the polls.

The three-day session of the Assam LegislativeAssembly is scheduled to continue till Saturday.

''The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) last nightdecided to defer presentation of the Budget to Friday becausethe Governor's speech was there today. The BAC saw thatkeeping two important presentations on the same day would havedragged the affairs for a long time,'' Assam Assembly SecretaryAmarendra Narayan Deka told PTI.

He denied that the development has any connection tothe visit of Shah.

As per the Assembly Calendar of the present session,'Vote on Accounts Budget for 2021-22' was listed at serialnumber 9 of Thursday's business.

Shah arrived around 2.30 am in Guwahati and met AnantaRoy of the Koch-Rajbongshi community at Chatipur in Assam'sChirang district in the morning.

Shah's meeting with the Greater Coochbehar Peoples'Association leader comes ahead of the assembly elections inneighbouring West Bengal.

Sarma, a powerful BJP leader in the Northeast, wasaccompanying Shah and that is why ''the budget could not bepresented today'', sources said.

When contacted, several spokespersons of the BJP saidthey were unaware of Shah's visit to the state.