Puducherry CM Rangasamy to present interim budget today
Puducherry: The Puducherry Legislative Assembly will convene on Thursday, with Chief Minister N. Rangasamy set to present an interim Budget in what is expected to be the final sitting of the current House ahead of the Assembly elections.
Rangasamy, who also holds the Finance portfolio, will table the interim Budget — effectively a vote-on-account — seeking approval for government expenditure for the next five months.
While Puducherry traditionally presents its full Budget in March, the impending elections and the expiry of the government’s term in April have necessitated an interim financial statement instead of a comprehensive annual Budget.
The Assembly session will begin with obituary references. The Chief Minister will then present the interim Budget. The government is also expected to seek legislative approval for additional expenditure incurred during the ongoing financial year.
The session is likely to witness heated debates, with opposition parties — the Congress and the DMK — planning to raise issues, including allegations of corruption and concerns over the circulation of spurious medicines in the union territory.
The NR Congress-BJP alliance government, led by Rangasamy, assumed office after the 2021 Assembly elections.
With its tenure ending in April, this sitting is expected to be the last Assembly session under the present government.
The House will reconvene only after the elections and the formation of a new government, which will then present a full-fledged Budget.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule by the end of this month. Once the dates are declared, the Model Code of Conduct will come into force.
Ministers and MLAs will then be required to surrender their official vehicles and Assembly offices to the Legislative Secretariat in accordance with election guidelines.
The 33-member Puducherry Assembly comprises 30 elected MLAs and three nominated members.
Among the elected representatives, 10 belong to the NR Congress, six to the BJP, six to the DMK, two to the Congress, and six are Independents. All three nominated MLAs are from the BJP.