Nod to budget, assembly adjourned sine die

UP Appropriation Bill2021, legislation to repeal 61 old laws get nod after protests, slogan-shouting and walkouts by Opposition

LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh assembly was adjourned sine die about six days ahead of schedule here on Thursday after giving its nod to the state budget for 2021-2022 and passed five bills, including the Uttar Pradesh Appropriation Bill-2021, on a day of protests, sloganshouting and walkouts by members of the major Opposition parties.

The state assembly’s budget session began on February 18 and was scheduled to end with the passing of the budget on March 10. In its 15-day session, the House had 10 sittings and conducted business for 65 hours and 31 minutes. The government had presented the state budget with an outlay of Rs 5,50,270.78 crore on February 22. It was the first paperless budget of Uttar Pradesh and included new schemes worth Rs 27,598.40 crore.

Soon after the House assembled for the day at 11am, parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna urged speaker Hriday Narayan Dikshit that all the items relating to the state budget be taken up and passed on the day.

“I propose that all the items relating to the state’s budget for 2021-22 are taken up for consideration of the House and passed on Thursday,” he said.

While the appropriation bill allows the state government to draw Rs 5.85 lakh crore from the consolidated fund, the state assembly also passed the Uttar Pradesh Repeal Bill 2021 to repeal 61 laws that have become redundant. Opposition members staged a walkout for the second time in the House as the state government moved this bill to repeal old laws after speeches from both the sides on cooperation in the House and minutes before the adjournment at around 1pm.

The Uttar Pradesh Fundamental Rule 56 (Amendment and Validation) Bill 2021 was passed to retrospectively validate the retirement of state government employees on the afternoon of the last day of the month in which he/she attains the age of 60 years. The assembly also passed the Uttar Pradesh Sheera Niyantran (Sansod

han) Vidheyak 2021 (control of molasses amendment bill 2021) to confer on the state government the powers of determining the rate of administrative charges on transfer, selling and supply of molasses by the sugar factories.

It also passed the Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for Physically Handicapped, Dependents of Freedom Fighters and Ex-Servicemen (Amendment) Bill 2021 to give representation to ex-servicemen in subordinate services and provide 5% reservation on Group B posts.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had spoken on Wednesday and replied to issues raised by leader of opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary, BSP leader Lalji Verma and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhna Mishra ‘Mona’.

In his attempt to convince the Opposition members, Khanna said, “Five-day debate, admissible on the state budget, will be complete on Thursday. Panchayat elections are underway. Many members have to be in their constituencies to file objections about reservation of constituencies.”

Ram Govind Chaudhary (SP) said the state government had given the programme of the House till March 10. By bringing down the number of sittings, the state government was violating democratic norms and curtailing the rights of the members, he alleged. BSP legislature party leader Lalji Verma quoted chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s statement made in 2017.

He said the CM had talked about having more than 90 sittings of the House every year and the state government was backtracking on these words. He said this was for the first time that the question hour was not being held to make way for passage of the budget. The CLP leader said the state government’s move would deprive new members of the experience of cut motions on departmental budgets in the House.

Khanna, however, countered their contention, saying there was a lot of difference between the words and deeds of the Opposition. He said this was not a new tradition. He quoted the World Health Organisation and the Niti Aayog to make his point about the fight against Covid-19 and the prevailing situation. He said on March 12, 1991, the then minister for parliamentary affairs had moved a proposal to get the budget passed in one go. In 2009, the House met only for 13 days and a similar motion was moved on February 20, 2009 with the then minister for parliamentary affairs Lalji Verma, quoting the precedence of March 11, 1991 to make his point. Khanna said this was repeated again on March 11, 2006 in the House.

When the speaker began taking up the listed business, the members of Opposition parties staged a walkout, shouting antigovernment slogans and saying the state government was violating all the democratic norms. Later, they joined the proceedings to mark the end of the budget session.

The Opposition members staged a walkout for the second time when the state government moved the repeal bill minutes before the House was adjourned sine die.