Ranchi: Ahead of the budget session starting from Wednesday, speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto convened an all-party meeting to chalk out modalities for the smooth functioning of the assembly procedures.Later in the day, chief minister Hemant Soren held a meeting with all MLAs of the ruling alliance to work out measures to take on the Opposition on the floor of the house. The meeting also delegated roles to different ministers to reply to the questions raised by the MLAs during the question hour.
Besides the CM, the leader of the opposition, and the finance minister attended the all-party meeting hosted by the speaker.The speaker also held a meeting with key bureaucrats of all departments, directing them to ensure the timely and accurate filing of replies in regard to the questions filed by the legislators.Mahto said, “All have been urged to cooperate for the smooth functioning of the budget session so that productive work for people and their welfare can be taken up. Officials have been directed to ensure proper arrangements, and most importantly, to provide correct answers to the department-wise questions.”At the start of the session on Wednesday, governor Santosh Gangwar will make his customary address, which will be discussed and debated over the next two days. The state budget will be tabled on Feb 24.Mahto informed that a proposal has been received to advance the house business, which was to take place Feb 23, to 21, in view of the civic body polls.A final decision will be taken during the Business Advisory Committee (BAC)meeting on Wednesday, he said.“The civic body polls are scheduled on Feb 23. Hence, there is a proposal to advance that day’s business to Feb 21 so that all can participate in the voting process in their respective polling booths,” he said.The meeting led by CM deliberated on Hemant’s recent tour to Davos and its outcomes to tackle questions raised by the opposition.State health minister Irfan Ansari said, “The treasury bench is hoping that the session will be in the interest of the state. We expect the Opposition to behave in a parliamentary manner so that the house can run properly. As far as any questions or issues, which will be raised by Opposition are concerned, we are prepared.”
