Ruling alliance, opposition gear up for budget session

Srinagar, Jan 31: As the Budget Session begins on February 2, political parties have geared up to finalize their strategies for what is expected to be a stormy session, with the opposition-particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party-set to corner the government on a range of issues.
The ruling National Conference is likely to call a joint meeting of NC, Congress, CPI (M), and independent MLAs supporting the government on Monday—the day when the Budget Session will commence with the Lieutenant Governor’s address to the House.
The meeting to be held in evening will be chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and attended by all alliance MLAs, including those from the Congress and independent members.
Before the joint meeting on Monday, the NC is also likely to convene a separate meeting of its MLAs.
“We have not yet finalized the date of the meeting(s),” NC chief whip and MLA from Eidgah, Mubarak Gul, said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has also called a meeting of its legislature party on Sunday afternoon to finalize its strategy for the Budget Session.
“We have called a legislature party meeting tomorrow at the party headquarters,” said Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma.
The Congress party has likewise scheduled a meeting of its legislature party tomorrow at 6:00 PM at the official residence of Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Hamid Karra.
The Peoples Democratic Party is also convening a meeting of its legislators on Sunday or Monday to discuss its strategy for the session.
“We will hold a meeting of MLAs after they arrive here,” senior-most PDP MLA and Kupwara representative Mir Muhammad Fayaz said.
The Budget Session is likely to be stormy, with divided opposition parties-the BJP, PDP, PC, and others-set to corner the government on issues ranging from the regularization of daily-wagers to the pre-election promises of the NC. (KNO)