Assembly session begins on June 4

Government gets ready to present a full-fledged budget; plan outlay fixed at ₹7,530 crore

The spotlight will be on the three nominated MLAs of the BJP when the Puducherry Legislative Assembly session begins.

The Legislative Assembly will re-assemble on June 4 to present the annual budget for this financial year.

The House had passed a vote-on-account for ₹2,466.66 crore during its one-day session on March 26. Subsequently, the State Planning Board, which met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi on April 27, recommended an annual plan outlay of ₹7,530 crore this financial year, which was an increase of ₹585 crore over that of last fiscal.

With necessary clearance from the Union Government, a full budget would be presented in the coming session, according to a senior official .

The business advisory committee will decide the duration of the Assembly session during its meeting next week.

The session is likely to be held for 15 to 20 days.

Spotlight on BJP

With the House set to reconvene, the focus now shifts to the three BJP MLAs nominated by the Centre. Although the High Court had allowed the MLAs to attend the March 26 session, Speaker V. Vaithilingam refused to admit them in the House leading to dramatic scenes outside the Assembly on the day.

The nominated members — S. Swaminathan, K.G Shankar and V. Selvaganapathy — were not allowed to enter the premises..

Local leadership of the BJP has been reportedly in touch with party high command to chalk out a strategy to deal with the Speaker’s decision. The party had filed a contempt petition in the High Court.