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Even as the Election Commission announced the dates for elections to five state assemblies on Wednesday, the Opposition alleged a “political move” on part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre.
At least 16 Opposition parties suspect that the Narendra Modi government is trying to win votes with guile. The parties have written to President Pranab Mukherjee and Chief Election Commissioner Naseem Zaidi, questioning the NDA government’s intent to present the Union Budget on 1 February.
Five states – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur – are headed for the Assembly elections in February, with the first phase of the UP polls scheduled to begin on 11 February.
While rumours of the Budget being presented on 1 February are rife, the government has not made a formal announcement yet.
The Budget, by convention, is presented on the last working day of February so the Lok Sabha has one month to review and modify the proposals before heading into the new economic year.
Sources from the Finance Ministry confirmed that it would not be changing the date of the budget’s announcement, according to CNN-News18.
Though, the Election Commission can ask the government not to announce any SOPs, Opposition wants a gap of about a month before the budget to ensure fairness in the polls.
Advancing the Budget date to 1 February would interfere with the elections as the Modi government could announce certain schemes prior to the elections to influence voters, the Opposition alleged.
The norm of presenting the Budget on the last working day of February was tampered with in 2012 by the then UPA government because the date clashed with the state Assembly elections and results.
In 2012, the state election results were declared on 4 and 6 March, due to which the Budget Session of 2012-13 was delayed.
The Indian Express quoted Congress Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma, as saying:
BSP supremo Mayawati also voiced apprehension over the BJP government trying to influence voters through the Union Budget.
The Economic Times quoted Mayawati as saying:
Will the government can reschedule the Budgetary presentation to an earlier date? Quoting the Election Commission, a report in NDTV stated that the Budget date is still under review.
(Source: The Indian Express, The Economic Times)
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Published: 04 Jan 2017,07:16 PM IST