After opposition’s continuous demand to postpone the Budget session till the poll gets over, the Election Commission has sought a response from the government. Reportedly, the commission has written a letter to cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha seeking response to the appeal by January 10.
The Commission wants to know the government’s views before taking a final call on the matter. The move of EC comes after opposition parties including representatives from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal (United), Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and DMK, led by the Congress met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and other officials.
The opposition on Thursday had raised the demand to reschedule the Budget until after polling ends in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. They claimed that the budget session would give the BJP an excessive advantage in the elections.
Reportedly, the intervention of President Pranab Mukherjee has also been sought after on the matter.
The Budget session of the parliament is all set to begin on Feb 1. The session is being advanced from the typical last day of the month as the Centre wants early allotment of finances for a range of schemes from April 1 – the beginning of the financial year.
