Even as political parties are busy with the Lok Sabha election, the Puducherry Assembly will meet here on Wednesday for the first time since the dawn of 2014.
Assembly Secretariat sources said that it had been convened to present the vote-on-account for six months as the annual plan outlay for the Union Territory of Puducherry had not been finalised by the Planning Commission due to the Lok Sabha polls.
The Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, who was holding finance portfolio, would present the vote-on-account He was also expected to present a few other statutory bills to get the consent of the House.
Since the Model Code of Conduct has already been come into force, it is expected that the Assembly will not transact other businesses. There will not be any policy announcements.
Though there is no clear information about the number of days of the session, a reliable source told The Hindu it might not stretch beyond a day.
The vote-on-account would be passed on Wednesday itself. Similarly, the customary Lieutenant Governor’s address, which should be figured in the first Assembly session of every calendar year, had not been included in the agenda citing the Lok Sabha polls.
It was reasoned that there was a precedent in the Puducherry Assembly history for presenting vote-on-account without the address of Lt. Governor. The sources also cited the presentation of interim budget in the Parliament earlier this year without the address of the President.
However, the opposition parties including the Congress and the AIADMK are likely to question the decision to convene the Assembly when the Model Code of Conduct is in force.
They said that the timing was an attempt to stifle the voice of opposition parties. It should have been convened in January or February. But, the Assembly had been convened just to take up the constitutional requirement.
V. Vaithilingam (Congress), Opposition Leader said that the timing of the session was totally unacceptable. Moreover, he had not so far received any intimation on convening business advisory committee meet for deciding the duration of the session.
