Chandigarh, Feb 19 (PTI) The Budget Session of the Haryana Assembly, beginning Friday, is likely to be stormy, with the opposition preparing to corner the BJP government over several issues, including law and order, unemployment, and farmers’ welfare.
The nearly month-long session will commence with the governor’s address and the Budget will be presented on March 2 by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who also holds the finance portfolio. The session will continue till March 18, with several holidays in between.
Saini has held consultations with diverse groups and sought suggestions from both ruling and opposition MLAs. He has asserted that the Budget would be a “people’s Budget” aimed at fulfilling their aspirations and expectations.
Highlighting the state’s economic performance, the chief minister recently said figures released by the Planning Department on January 29 show that Haryana’s GDP for 2025-26 (advance estimates) stood at Rs 13,67,769 crore as against Rs 12,13,951 crore in 2024-25, reflecting a growth rate of 12.67 per cent.
On Thursday, the Congress Legislature Party met here under the chairmanship of former chief minister and leader of the opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Speaking to reporters later, Hooda said a detailed discussion was held on issues to be raised by his party during the session.
He said the Congress would move an adjournment motion on the “collapse” of law and order in the state and strongly take up matters related to farmers’ welfare, unemployment, old age pension, MGNREGA, drug abuse, India-US trade deal, health sector, SYL canal, mining, sports-related and other issues and demand answers from the government.
The Congress has alleged that candidates from outside Haryana were securing a disproportionate share of government jobs in the state and Hooda said that the party will raise this matter in the assembly. The party has also claimed that the Haryana Public Service Commission was unable to fill all advertised positions.
Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh, who also attended the CLP meet on Thursday, told reporters that Congress has decided that its legislators will march from the party office in Sector 9 here on February 25 and to gherao the Vidhan Sabha on the MGNREGA issue.
Hitting out at the Centre, Rao Narender said the “scrapping” of MGNREGA has affected common people and the poor.
Hooda had on Tuesday alleged that under the BJP rule, the law and order situation has deteriorated and there is an atmosphere of fear among the people. Hooda also termed the recent Indo-US trade deal “anti-farmer”.
The chief minister earlier said the opposition had no real issues to raise and were running a “shop of lies”. He also said that the opposition was trying to mislead people on the India-US trade deal and asserted that traders, industrialists and people of the state were happy with the agreement.
The Indian National Lok Dal, meanwhile, has submitted 11 Calling Attention notices on various important public interest issues, including “lack of action” on a Supreme Court order for the construction of the SYL canal, “deteriorating” law and order situation, thousands of vacant teaching positions in government schools, drug abuse, and severe shortage of academic and non-teaching staff in universities.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, chaired by the Speaker, was held here on Thursday in which Chief Minister Saini and Leader of Opposition Hooda were also present.
After the BAC meeting, Hooda, while referring to the duration of the Budget Session, said that “working days are less and there are many holidays in between. The number of sittings is same almost same as before”. PTI SUN RHL
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