The Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature will begin on Monday under the shadow of a surge in COVID-19 cases in the State, and is likely to be a stormy affair with the opposition BJP expected to corner the government over various issues.
The 10-day session will have eight working days and the Budget will be tabled on March 8.
Bills pertaining to departments such as Revenue, Higher Education and Home are likely to be taken up.
A draft of the Shakti Act, which provides for strict punishment for crime against women and children, is under consideration of a joint select committee of both Houses.
The Budget session is normally held for six weeks, but in view of the current pandemic situation, it has been curtailed.
The BJP recently alleged that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government was trying to curtail the session on the pretext of the novel coronavirus situation to run away from a debate on its “failures”.
However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anil Parab on Thursday claimed that it was Opposition parties which wanted a one-day session.
The session will start with the address of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to the joint sitting of the Assembly and Council.
The State government will also table supplementary demands on the first day. The House would hold a discussion on the Governor’s speech on March 2, while the next two days were reserved for a discussion on supplementary demands, Mr. Parab said.
The Governor has so far not approved 12 names recommended by the State Cabinet for nomination to the Legislative Council.
According to Mr. Parab, the legislature would discuss proposals of Opposition parties on March 5 and some Bills would also be tabled.
There will be no sittings on March 6 and 7.
Mr. Parab had claimed that the Opposition suggested a one-day session due to the COVID-19 situation, “but we decided to have a 10-day session”.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis recently pointed out that election of the new Speaker was not on the agenda of the meeting. The post fell vacant following the resignation of Nana Patole, who has taken over as the Congress’s State unit chief.
